World No. 1 Sabalenka calls for player boycott over tennis prizes
by Liam Griffin · The Washington TimesLabor strife is brewing in the tennis world. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said at the Italian Open on Tuesday that players may need to boycott to gain a larger share of prize money at the sport’s top tournaments.
“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,” the 28-year-old Belarusian said. “I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.”
Sabalenka, along with other stars like Janik Sinner and Coco Gauff, issued a joint statement on Monday about the state of tennis’ revenue split. Revenues for tournaments like the French Open are rising, but the athletes claimed their share hasn’t increased accordingly.
“According to tournament officials, Roland Garros generated 395 million euros ($462,481,800) in revenue in 2025, a 14% year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by just 5.4%, reducing players’ share of revenue to 14.3%,” they said in Monday’s statement.
The players are looking to receive a 22% share of revenue through total prize money going forward. If the compensation fails to match expectations, more athletes are warning that they could skip the Grand Slam events in the future.
“If we’re all in agreement, and I think we are — the men and the women are united right now — it’s something we could do,” Jasmine Paolini, who is currently the eighth-ranked player in the world, said. “There’s a lot of things that the Slams are not doing that the WTA and I think the ATP are doing.”
The French Open is the next Grand Slam event on the calendar. It is slated to begin on May 18.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
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• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.