Players to cut short French Open interviews in pay row

The world's leading tennis players plan to limit their pre-French Open media commitments to 15 minutes in protest at the prize money on offer.

As first reported, external by The Guardian, the players could walk out of news conferences or broadcast interviews at Roland Garros this Friday and Saturday when the 15 minutes is up.

The 15-minute limit is meant to symbolise the 15% of revenue which - broadly speaking - the Grand Slams allocate to prize money.

The strategy has been communicated to most of the top 200 singles players, but representatives of the players accept they are free to make their own decisions.

The men's and women's top-10 players are demanding a higher percentage of the revenue generated by the four Grand Slams, as well as benefit contributions and a greater say in areas such as scheduling.

This year's French Open prize money has increased by 9.5%, but the annual increase was 20% at last year's US Open and nearly 16% at January's Australian Open.

Interviews with the French Open's major broadcast partners - such as TNT Sports - are likely to be targeted as the players attempt to put pressure on the French Tennis Federation's (FFT) key commercial partners.

It has not yet been decided whether the players' "work to rule" will continue when the main draw begins in Paris on Sunday.

The players' campaign is being spearheaded by former WTA chairman and chief executive Larry Scott.

The American will be in Paris on Friday for a meeting with French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo and FFT president Gilles Moretton.

Meetings are also planned with representatives of the All England Club (AELTC) and the US Tennis Association later in the fortnight.

The players' action is designed to put pressure on the AELTC, with prize money for Wimbledon not due to be announced for another three weeks.

Last year, the prize fund rose by 7% to £53.5m, which was double the amount on offer a decade earlier.

Players look enviously, however, at the revenues generated by the Grand Slams and feel entitled to a larger slice of the cake.

The AELTC's financial statement for the year to July 2025 showed revenue of £427m and profit after tax of £39.7m.

Players have asked the Slams to pay 22% of their revenue in prize money by 2030.

They are also asking that tens of millions of dollars are paid towards pension, healthcare and maternity benefits, and that they are consulted more widely on scheduling and other key decisions.

At this month's Italian Open, world number one Aryna Sabalenka said she believes players will "at some point" boycott one of the majors.