World No.1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka led a player protest at Wimbledon on Saturday, limiting their media appearances to 15 minutes in a continued push for grand slams to increase prize money as a share of tournament revenue.
Protest details and player unity
The action, which players say will continue through the first week of the championships, follows similar protests at the French Open. Jessica Pegula suggested the protests could extend to the US Open in August. "I think it's something that we felt was productive and worked well at the French [Open], limiting the media time," Pegula said. "Fifteen minutes, some people are like: 'Well, what is that going to do?' Well, we usually spend 90 minutes, so I think we saw it work well."
Pegula added: "I think it's an easy way to get players to become united when you tell them they don't have to do media. They [say]: 'Sure, I'll sign up for that less obligation.'"
Wimbledon's response and player demands
After the French Open protests, Wimbledon increased its prize money by 20% to £64.2 million for this year. However, players — advised by former WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott — claim that equates to just over 14% of the All England Club's revenue based on 2025-26 predictions. "We're very grateful that one of the [slams] has raised the prize money but it's not really answering the questions that we've been asking," Pegula said. "I don't know if the point's just not getting across."
Players are also seeking investment in pensions and more money toward player welfare. Sabalenka cut her press conference short, stating: "If you look at the prize money over the last 10 years [as a share of revenue], it's kind of stayed the same." She added: "We do it for the tour, we don't do it for ourselves. We do it for the rest of the players who are suffering to even hire a coach. It's not an easy life for players who are lower in the ranking. So we do it for them."
Mixed execution and notable absentee
The protest's execution was somewhat chaotic. Sinner conducted a normal-length press conference of about 10 minutes, saying it's "not only about the money." Novak Djokovic, a 24-time grand slam champion who previously led prize money debates, was not part of the protest. Wimbledon expressed disappointment last week, reiterating that revenue share does not fully account for money reinvested into UK tennis.
