Game, set... protest! Top tennis stars ramp up Wimbledon revolt over prize money

PARIS, June 25 — Many of the world’s top-ranked men’s and women’s tennis players will step up their protest at their share of revenue at Wimbledon, a statement said yesterday.

After limiting their participation in media day ahead of the the French Open in May, the players will this time limit their media commitments to 15 minutes for the whole first week of the championships, which start on June 29, said a statement released on their behalf.

It said 15 minutes reflected “that Wimbledon currently pays slightly below 15 per cent of revenues to players as prize money”.

Player representatives have written to Wimbledon’s leadership to inform them of the planned action.

“Players are also aware that recent public comments from Wimbledon’s leadership have questioned the principle of a revenue-sharing formula —- the very foundation of the proposal,” said the statement. “It is difficult to reach a structural agreement while the structural premise is being contested.”

The statement also demanded a player welfare fund and a formal player council, and said the players had tabled the issues a year ago.

The release did not name any participating players, but at Roland Garros seven of the then-top-ten ranked men and women took part.

A spokesman for the All England Club, the owners of the Wimbledon courts in southwest London, expressed their sadness at the players’ proposed action after an increase in overall prise money by 20 per cent this year to £64.2 million (RM348 million)

“We are surprised and disappointed by this action,” the spokesman told Britain’s Press Association news agency.

“Wimbledon puts the players at the heart of all our decisions and we invest significantly in them every year. This year’s total prize money fund has increased by 20 per cent to £64.2 million, which is the largest increase in our event’s history.

“This is alongside investing hundreds of millions of pounds in upgrades to our player facilities as part of a three-year transformation to create a world class player performance environment.”

Former Australian Open champion Madison Keys told AFP in May that “many players” were united on the question of Grand Slam prize money and that they would boycott a major tournament if their voices were not heard.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Jannik Sinner, also speaking in May ahead of Roland Garros, stopped short of calling for a boycott of the sport’s major events but called for a higher level of respect.

“We give much more than we are getting back. It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players,” Sinner said.

“It’s not nice that after one year we are not even close to conclusion of what we would like to have.” — AFP