Top tennis players could boycott French Open over prize money: Sabalenka

Players would boycott the French Open if their prize money at the clay court Grand Slam is not increased, women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka has said, with ⁠⁠Coco Gauff also voicing support for the drastic step.

The threat, issued on Tuesday, deepens a dispute between players and Roland Garros organisers over prize money distribution, even though this year’s tournament offers an increase of about 10 percent for an overall pot of 61.7 million euros ($72.1m), up by 5.3 million euros ($6.2m) from last year.

Several top players released a statement a day earlier, saying they ⁠⁠were set to receive prize money that would likely still be less than 15 percent of tournament revenue, well short of the 22 percent they demanded to match ATP and WTA combined 1000 events.

When asked how far players might push their demands, Sabalenka told reporters at the Italian Open: “I think at some point we will boycott it [the tournament], yeah. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.

“Let’s see ‌‌how far we can get, if it’s going to take players for boycott… Some of the things, I feel like it’s really unfair to the players. I think at some point it’s going to get to this.”

However, the world number one struck a hopeful note about ongoing negotiations.

“I just really hope that all of the negotiation that we are having, we at some point are going to get to the right decision, to the conclusion that everyone will be happy with,” she added.

The prize money boost still leaves Roland Garros trailing its Grand Slam ⁠⁠rivals.

The US Open offered $90 million last year while Wimbledon paid out $72.51 million and the ⁠⁠Australian Open a record $80.06 million this year.

Gauff calls for players’ union

World number four Gauff said she could “100 percent see” players boycotting a Grand Slam if they took the decision together as one.

“It’s not about me. It’s about the future of our sport and also the current players who aren’t getting as much benefits, maybe, ⁠⁠as even some of the top players are getting when it comes to sponsorship and things like that,” Gauff said.

“We’re making money off court. When you look at the [players ranked] 50 to 100, 50 ⁠⁠to 200, how much money each Slam makes, it’s kind of unfortunate where the ⁠⁠200 best tennis players are living paycheck to paycheck.”

Gauff also suggested the players must form a union, highlighting how the WNBA basketball players’ union reached a tentative agreement on a collective bargaining deal earlier this year after nearly 17 months of negotiations.

“Just taking what the WNBA accomplished. They also have a union, so I think that helps,” she ‌‌added.