Top players, including Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka, recently issued a joint statement expressing dissatisfaction over the French Open’s revenue share. The move comes amid tennis players’ dispute with Grand Slams over the prize money and aid provided to athletes.
Sabalenka and Świątek have now spoken out on the ongoing conflict with the French Open as the tournament nears.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek Ponder the Idea of a Boycott
In April, the French Open announced that the 2026 prize money is up 9.53% compared with last year, with a total purse of €61.723 million (approx. $72.17 million) up for grabs this time. Qualifying rounds and the early main-draw matches are set for the maximum percentage increase.
The singles champions will be awarded €2.8 million (approx. $3.27 million), up from 2025’s €2.55 million (approx. $2.98 million). But players don’t appear to be on-board with the increment. They are demanding more. During her pre-tournament press conference, Świątek made her stance clear.
“I think we’ve been pretty reasonable in terms of our proposal and getting the fair share of revenue. I think the ‘increase of prize money’ is not exactly what we wanted because the percentage of revenue is going down,” she said, pointing out that the revenue growth isn’t proportional to the profits posted by the tournament.
Highlighting the importance of “proper communication,” she said, “Hopefully before Roland Garros there’s going to be opportunity to have these meetings.”
Świątek assured that all players are on the same page, but the possibility of “boycott” hasn’t been discussed.
“We have good communication between us. Sometimes if it’s an important topic, we are ready to speak together,” she said. “But boycotting the tournament, it’s a bit extreme kind of situation. I don’t know. I guess we as players are here to play as individuals, and we’re competing against each other.”
“It’s really hard for me to say how it would work if it’s even there on the picture. For now, I haven’t heard anything,” she added.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, didn’t rule out the idea. “I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.”
While the World No. 1, like her Polish counterpart, is hoping that the conflict is resolved before the players have to resort to any extreme step, she added, “I feel nowadays, we girls can easily get together and go for this because some of the things I feel like it’s really unfair to the players. I think at some point it’s going to get to this.”
Aryna Sabalenka explained that players are vital for the tournaments’ success and thus should be awarded their fair share. “I feel like without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage.”
Top players sent their first letter to Grand Slams in March 2025. They were, however, forced to write multiple letters thereafter due to unsuccessful meetings and questionable delays from the governing bodies. Besides revenue, the players have questioned Grand Slams’ detachment from pensions and health plans while also bringing up the packed tennis calendar.
Amid the conflict, Wimbledon announced a 7% increase in total prize money in 2025, while the US Open posted a 20% increase. The prize purse at the 2026 Australian Open rose by 16%.
