French Open: Players accuse Slams of ignoring concerns as tensions rise

A simmering dispute between players ⁠and the Grand Slams over revenue sharing intensified at the French Open, with Novak Djokovic warning the sport risked further fragmentation as leading players pressed for a greater voice in shaping its future.

Several players were expected to limit their appearances at Friday’s traditional pre-tournament media ⁠day to 15 minutes, and to not conduct any additional multi-media interviews.

The tensions have been building for weeks, but the rhetoric sharpened in Paris, where players, such as Taylor Fritz, insisted that their grievances were not just about “wanting more money”.

“It’s about just wanting what’s fair,” the American added.

“As the tournaments make more money, we obviously want to see the revenue ⁠shared back to the players reflect that.”

Players have pointed to pensions, tournament expansion, scheduling and late-night finishes among the issues fuelling frustration, alongside what several described as a persistent lack of dialogue from organisers.

Russian Andrey Rublev painted a picture of a widening disconnect between players and the sport’s leadership.

“When you try to communicate for so many years … they don’t hear you. They don’t answer,” Rublev said. “When you send the mail in, no one responds to official mail for months.”

Rublev said the issue was not simply financial, but structural.

“It’s more about are we together, ‌and we try to do something together to grow the sport,” he said.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka cast the debate as a struggle on behalf of the sport’s lesser lights rather than its leading stars.

“It’s not about me. It’s about the players who’s lower in the ranking, who is suffering,” she said. “But as the world number one, I feel like I have to stand up and to fight for those players.”

Don’t mention the ‘B’ word

Even so, players adopted a more cautious tone over the prospect of a boycott after Sabalenka raised the possibility earlier this month in Rome.

“I don’t know if I want to start throwing around the ‘B’ word,” Fritz said.

“It’s a really big deal, and I don’t think we as players should really make big threats like that unless we’re fully ready to do it.”

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek also stopped ⁠short of endorsing drastic action.

“I don’t think doing something that is not constructive will make sense,” the four-time French Open winner said. “But ⁠we want to push a bit more to get what we need.”

Djokovic said he was not personally involved in the planned 15-minute media action, but aligned himself with many of the players’ broader concerns while warning against further division in the sport.

“I have always been on the players’ side and tried to advocate for players’ rights and better future for players, but not only top players,” the 24-time Grand ⁠Slam champion said.