Top tennis players are set to escalate their campaign for improved prize money distribution at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, despite organisers announcing a record increase in the tournament’s prize fund.
Player representatives revealed that participants will expand their protest actions after similar measures were introduced during the recent French Open.
While some players previously limited pre-tournament media engagements to 15 minutes in Paris, they now plan to impose the same restriction during Wimbledon’s media weekend and extend it to post-match interviews throughout the opening week of the Championships, which begin on June 29.
According to player representatives, the action followed extensive consultations with athletes across both the men’s and women’s professional tours.
The 15-minute media limit is intended to highlight players’ concerns over revenue sharing at the Grand Slam events.
Players argue that only about 15 per cent of tournament revenues are allocated to prize money and are seeking a larger share of the financial returns generated by the sport’s biggest events.
At the French Open, several leading stars participated in the initiative. World number one Aryna Sabalenka shortened her pre-tournament press conference, while players including Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek also complied with the coordinated action.
However, Novak Djokovic, a frequent advocate for players’ rights, did not participate in the protest.
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Wimbledon recently announced the largest single-year increase in prize money in the tournament’s history, with the total prize fund rising to £64.2 million.
The men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive £3.6 million, while players eliminated in the first round will earn £80,000.
Despite the significant increase, player representatives maintain that the overall fund remains roughly £7 million below the level they had hoped to secure through ongoing discussions with Grand Slam organisers.
The latest move underscores growing tensions between players and tournament administrators over the distribution of revenues, a debate that has gained momentum across professional tennis in recent years as athletes push for a greater share of the sport’s commercial success.
