World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka spearheaded a coordinated player protest at Wimbledon on Saturday, limiting media appearances to 15 minutes as part of an ongoing campaign for Grand Slam tournaments to allocate a larger share of revenue to prize money, pensions, and player welfare.
Protest Details and Player Unity
Jessica Pegula confirmed the demonstrations, which are scheduled to continue throughout the first week of the championships, may extend to the US Open in August. "It's something we felt was productive and worked well at the French [Open]," Pegula said. "Fifteen minutes, some people are like: 'Well, what is that going to do?' Well, we usually spend 90 minutes. It's an easy way to get players to become united when you tell them they don't have to do media. They [say]: 'Sure, I'll sign up for that less obligation.'"
After similar protests at the French Open, Wimbledon increased its prize money by 20% to £64.2 million for this year's event. However, players, advised by former WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott, argue that this represents just over 14% of the All England Club's revenue based on 2025-26 projections.
Mixed Implementation and Player Statements
Pegula expressed dissatisfaction with the response: "We're very grateful that one of the [slams] has raised the prize money, but it's not really answering the questions we've been asking. I don't know if the point's just not getting across. We'll see how it progresses over the next couple of weeks and then going into the next slam, which is the US Open. I think we'll get a good grasp about where we're really standing with the slams."
The protest execution varied among players. Sinner conducted a normal-length press conference of about 10 minutes, stating it's "not only about the money." Sabalenka cut her press conference short, remarking, "If you look at the prize money over the last 10 years [as a share of revenue], it's stayed the same." She added, "We do it for the tour, we don't do it for ourselves. We do it for the rest of the players who are suffering to even hire a coach. It's not an easy life for players who are lower in the ranking. So we do it for them."
Notable Absence and Tournament Response
Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and former leader of prize money debates, was not part of the protest. Wimbledon expressed disappointment in the action, reiterating that the share of revenue does not fully account for the money it reinvests into tennis in the UK.
