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World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has threatened to boycott Grand Slam tournaments over inadequate prize money. Her comments follow a letter from top ATP and WTA players expressing disappointment in the French Open's prize pool.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has threatened a potential boycott of Grand Slam tournaments if players continue to feel they arenât being paid what they deserve.
Sabalenkaâs comments come a day after a group of top ATP and WTA players sent a letter over the weekend expressing âdeep disappointmentâ in the French Openâs prize money pool, saying their pay didnât reflect the increase in projected tournament revenue.
âWithout us there wouldnât be a tournament and there wouldnât be that entertainment,â Sabalenka said Tuesday at an Italian Open press conference. âI think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like thatâs going to be the only way to fight for our rights.â
âI feel like nowadays, we girls can easily get together and go for this because of some of the things I feel like itâs really unfair to the players. I think at some point itâs going to get to this,â Sabalenka continued.
Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, the defending French and Australian Open champions, respectively, were both in support of a possible boycott as well.
Gauff said at the Italian Open Tuesday that she could â100% seeâ a boycott happening if players âcollectively agree on it.â She also said she thinks âfew playersâ also agree with Sabalenkaâs sentiment.
âItâs not about me. Itâs about the future of our sport and the current players who arenât getting as much benefits as even some of the top players are getting,â Gauff said, referring to players who donât necessarily earn millions in sponsorship money. âWhen you look at the 50 to 100, 50 to 200 [top ranked players], how much money each Slam makes, itâs kind of unfortunate where the 200 best tennis players are living paycheck to paycheck, whereas other sports itâs not even a discussion.â
The French Openâs prize pool for 2026 increased by $6.5 million to $72.3 million compared with 2025 which represents nearly 15% of the revenue the tournament is projected to earn. This is down from the 15.5% players said they earned in 2024. Itâs also a far cry from the 22% share the players want by 2030, which is what they receive from joint ATP and WTA 1000 events like Indian Wells or the Italian Open.
Notably, prize money at the French Open increased by around 11% from 2025 to 2026 for players making the third three rounds, but just 9.8% for championsâa move the French Tennis Federation said was meant to prioritize players who exit the tournament early.
Aryna Sabalenka threatened to boycott Grand Slam tournaments due to perceived inadequate prize money for players.
Top ATP and WTA players expressed deep disappointment in the French Open's prize money pool, stating it does not reflect the expected increase in tournament revenue.
A Grand Slam boycott by players could significantly impact tournament operations and revenue, as well as raise awareness about player compensation issues.
Players, led by Aryna Sabalenka, are considering collective action, including a boycott, to advocate for fairer prize money distribution.
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By comparison, players in major American sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB get nearly 50% of league revenue, while the WNBAâs player revenue share increased from roughly 9.3% to 20% after the leagueâs 2026 CBA agreement.
In their letter, the players noted that theyâre âreceiving a declining share of the value they help create,â and âwhile other major international sports are modernizing governance, aligning stakeholders, and building long-term value, the Grand Slams remain resistant to change.â
Twenty players signed onto the letter, including Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Coco Gauff. The group previously sent letters to all four Grand Slams in March and then July 2025, demanding greater share of revenue, greater representation in the form of a Grand Slam Player Council, and increased investment in benefits like pensions and health insurance.
Sabalenkaâs rival on the WTA tour, world No. 3 Iga ĆwiÄ tek, was more hesitant. ĆwiÄ tek said at the Italian Open that she was unaware of a possible boycott, and that doing so would be âa bit extreme kind of situation.â
âThe most important thing is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate,â ĆwiÄ tek said.
ATP world No. 6 Ben Shelton also said he didnât know about a boycott, but advocated for greater player representation and âa seat at the tableâ to discuss Grand Slam issues.
The demands made by ATP and WTA players echo those from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a group co-founded by Novak Djokovic which filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tours and the four Grand Slams. That lawsuit, which was settled between the PTPA and Tennis Australia in December 2025, asked for an increased share of revenue alongside several other player benefits.
Representatives for all four Grand Slam tournaments have not responded to requests for comment.
The post Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff Suggest Grand Slam Boycott Over Prize Money Share appeared first on Front Office Sports.