Players to expand prize money protest at Wimbledon
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- Tennis players will restrict post-match media appearances to 15 minutes across Wimbledon's first week, escalating a 'work to rule' protest begun at the French Open despite a 20% prize money increase.
- The 15-minute cap symbolises the roughly 15% of revenue Grand Slams allocate to prize money; players are asking for 16% from all four Slams this year.
- At Roland Garros, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek cut pre-tournament press to 15 minutes, while Novak Djokovic declined to take part in the action.
- Wimbledon's total prize fund is £64.2m — the largest annual increase in the event's history — with singles champions taking £3.6m each, though the pot remains about £7m short of what players sought.
- AELTC chair Deborah Jevans rejected the revenue-percentage metric, telling BBC Sport that costs and infrastructure investment make it 'plainly wrong' to judge prize money by revenue alone.
- The AELTC said it is 'surprised and disappointed,' pointed to hundreds of millions in player-facility upgrades, and noted it proposed a player council late last year — an offer players rejected.
- Players also want contributions to their benefit pool and a governance voice, and face potential fines of up to £50,000 for skipping media sessions entirely.
Why it matters: The protest escalates even after Wimbledon posted its largest-ever prize fund hike, signalling the dispute over the revenue-share metric — not the headline number — is the real sticking point. Broadcast partners like the BBC and ESPN, who saw leading players do only one TV interview at Roland Garros, will bear the most visible operational impact during the Championships.
