Wimbledon stars stand down from prize money protest after two days
Leading players at Wimbledon will return to normal media duties from Monday after ending their prize money protest following constructive meetings with the All England Club. Several star names from the mens and womens tours, including world No 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, had planned to limit their contractual media commitments to a symbolic 15 minutes per match day during the first week of the tournament. The 15 minutes referred to their prize money as a percentage of overall tournament revenue. Earlier this month, the All England Club announced record prize money for this years tournament, confirming their biggest ever uplift in prize money and increasing the overall prize pool by 20 per cent. Wimbledons prize money now stands at an overall 64.2m; the breakdown of which sees the singles champions win a record 3.6m each and first-round losers receiving 80,000.The players, who initially welcomed Wimbledons announcement as a genuine and significant step forward, estimated that their share of Wimbledons projected revenues for 2026 stands at 14.4 per cent and said that ratio is less than their share from 10 years ago - despite revenues growing over that period. Players eventually want to reach a share of 22 per cent. Sinner, Sabalenka, as well as Coco Gauff, timed their press conferences on Saturday, intending to keep them under 10 minutes. But not all players joined in, suggesting a split within the leading stars who had initially signed letters demanding fairer prize money, contributions to a player welfare fund, and more consultation with tournaments. Alex de Minaur said of the direct action: Wimbledon made a big step in the right direction, and something that should be noted. So this is for me to acknowledge their big step. Defending champion Sinner also appeared frustrated to be asked about the protest, telling his press conference that he wanted to talk about tennis and shutting down a question on player welfare. A statement from the players read: Following constructive meetings between player representatives and AELTC leadership over the weekend, players have confirmed they will resume normal tournament media duties from Monday 29 June.This decision is based on Wimbledon's commitment to return with specific proposals addressing all three points of the players' July 2025 submission. The underlying matters remain unresolved and players will carefully evaluate the proposals once received. Players will also be providing Wimbledon with further information they have requested in connection with those proposals during the course of the tournament.Sinner said he wanted to talk about tennis and shut down a question about player welfare (Getty)Constructive dialogue with Wimbledon and the other grand slams will continue. The players and the club will make no further comment at this time."Wimbledon were said to be surprised and disappointed by the collective action, are were shocked that the record increase in prize money did not prevent protests from the players.Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), said on Monday: Everyone is delighted that we've got to a place where we can all just focus on the Championships. Asked whether it was disappointing for Sinner, as the defending champion, to engage in the protest, she said: As we said at the time, we were surprised and disappointed that the players decided to take the action they did after we announced a 20% increase in prize money. We had engaged in productive conversations and had agreed to do so following the Championships, so we were surprised and disappointed that that was the case here. My understanding is that they, like us, are committed to trying to find a way forward for the sport, and that goes beyond just prize money. And so we're keen to get back to those positive discussions when we get to the other side of the Championships, and once we've got that financial information, we'll have the opportunity to think about what we can go back to them with.The grand slams argue that the players representatives underestimate the costs of running tournaments and staging important warm-up events. There has also been multi-million-pound investment into player facilities at the All England Club, including the renovation of the Millennium Building this year.Additionally, Wimbledon asked Larry Scott, the former chief executive of the WTA and an experienced sports administrator who had been leading the protests, and the players representatives for financial records of tour events to understand where the 22 per cent revenue-sharing ratio comes from, but it is understood those details have not yet been provided.During Wimbledon, the players representatives will also hold meetings with both the French Open and US Open. Last month, the players expressed their deep and collective disappointment at the prize money on offer at the French Open after organisers announced a 9.5 per cent increase, and the tournament will present their response to the players over the next fortnight. The US Open will also announce their prize money for the 2026 tournament in the coming weeks.
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