Tennis players are once again protesting against the Grand Slams, the four biggest tournaments of the year (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open), demanding bigger prize money pools to distribute between the players. WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka even suggested that they may need to do a boycott as the only way to fight for their rights.
The information comes from a report by Tennis Majors, saying that the top men and women in tennis, including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, Cogo Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Iga Swiatek, have organised under an informal alliance called Project RedEye complaining specifically about Roland Garros, after the French Open decided to increase prize pool by 9.5%, an amount that they consider insufficient given the growth in revenue by the tournament, believed to be around 14% year-on-year, and worse, a decision taken without consulting the players.
The players observe that other ATP and WTA tournaments dedicate 22% of revenues to players' prizes, but in Grand Slams it is around 13-15%, something they consider "an insult". Players also ask that Grand Slams need to contribute to player welfare (pensions, injury insurance, maternity leave), as the ATP and WTA tours already do.
Last year, similar protests happened that led to increase in prizes by the Grand Slams (US Open increased the prize pool 20% and Australian Open 16%, which contrasts with Roland Garros' rise of 9.5% that has angered players this year). Last year's protests were led at the time by Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA), an organisation founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil. Shortly after, Djokovic left the organisation citing transparency and governance concerns.