ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London – The group of leading players pushing for prize money changes at the Grand Slams will resume their normal media duties at Wimbledon following talks with senior officials at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
The group, which includes most of the top 10 men’s and women’s players, including Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, announced last week that it would limit its media appearances to 15 minutes per player during pre-tournament commitments and the first week of the event.
This was a tightening of the 15-minute limit introduced at the French Open last month, which only applied the weekend before the tournament.
But the Wimbledon protest lasted just two days after AELTC chairwoman Deborah Jevans, tournament director Jamie Baker and board member Tim Henman held talks with the group. Larry Scott, the former ATP Tour player and former WTA executive who heads the players’ group, had not yet arrived in London but was in talks with agents and during negotiations.
According to a press release from the players’ group sent out on Monday, during the talks the All England Club promised to put forward concrete proposals on three areas of reform: increasing prize money to represent a larger share of tournament revenue; make contributions to a player welfare fund; and creating a formal players council.
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Finances were the issue that grabbed the most headlines. The prize money at the four majors accounts for an average of around 15 percent of tournament revenue; Players want that figure to be 22 percent by 2030, in line with ATP and WTA Tour norms. The group initially welcomed the All England Club’s announcement a few weeks ago that Wimbledon’s prize money would rise by 20 percent from $72.7 million (currently £55.1 million) in 2025 to $85.8 million this year.
Then it misled the AELTC when it announced last week that players would again reduce their media activity. “We are surprised and disappointed by this action,” replied a club spokesman.
Most players stuck to the limit – some like Sabalenka, Sinner and Gauff were particularly strict about their press conferences – but others did not attend. Ben Shelton, the American No. 4 seed, said in his press conference: “I decided to devote more time to media day today because Wimbledon is a special place. They have always treated me well here. They let me come to practice and go on the lawn after the French Open. They helped me in my first year when I was on tour.”
“I think they made an effort. I think that was reflected in the increase in prize money this year.”
Australian Alex de Minaur followed a similar path.
At a media briefing on Monday, AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton described weekend discussions, which followed talks with Scott during last month’s French Open, as “really fruitful”, adding that financial discussions will continue to develop.
“We’ve been demanding financial information from their representatives for quite some time. He (Scott) will provide that. And once we have that financial information, we’ve had a chance to take a look at it and can resume those discussions after the championship.”
The club has said it does not believe revenue is an appropriate figure to calculate Wimbledon prize money, and French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo expressed similar reservations at Roland Garros.
“Revenue does not take into account the investments we make. And as I mentioned, we are not for profit, we are very different from a 1,000 event (the ATP and WTA tournaments a tier below the Grand Slams). It’s all about the sport again. I’m frustrated that this message hasn’t gotten through,” Jevans said at a pre-tournament briefing this month.
Wimbledon has a profit-sharing agreement with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which oversees British tennis and distributes 90 percent of annual tournament profits to the association. Last year’s profit was 52.7 million pounds ($70.4 million). Like the other three majors, Wimbledon also invests in tournament infrastructure and popular sports as well as in player prize money.
The cancellation of the protest, which Bolton said was not due to pressure from broadcast partners, could only be a temporary relief.
Attention will quickly turn to the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, taking place in August and September, and in particular the prize money on offer. Talks between representatives of the players’ group and those of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) are planned at Wimbledon next week. A person briefed on the group’s plans said last week that further escalations from players were possible if those talks don’t go well. They said that could include withdrawing from the mixed doubles event at Flushing Meadows and cutting contractual media obligations with ESPN.
USTA representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
On the court, Wimbledon, which began on Monday, ends on Sunday, July 12.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7405379/2026/06/29/wimbledon-tennis-prize-money-player-protest/
