There has been a lot of confusion about exactly why tennis players want to boycott Grand Slams.
Last week, women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka said players might start boycotting majors due to disputes over prize money on offer at the four largest tournaments in the sport: The Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Sabalenka and several other top stars in both the men’s and women’s game issued a statement recently highlighting that this year’s French Open will see an increase in the overall prize money pot, but a decrease in players’ share of tournament revenue.
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Top players have threatened to boycott Grand Slams over prize money concerns…
American WTA number one Coco Gauff said she could see players getting behind the strike, and explained her reasoning behind why she thinks it would be necessary.
Gauff said: “There are current players that aren’t getting as much benefits as even some of the top players are getting when it comes to sponsorship and things like that. We are making money off court.
“When you look at the 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 pay check to pay check.”
Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, suggested not every player calling for a boycott is being as clear as Gauff in their reasoning.
Patrick Mouratoglou praises Coco Gauff for her clarity
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “On the debate about prize money at Roland Garros, this is what I want to hear: A big percentage of the extra money we will get as players will go to the players who really need it, to make sure that everybody can live out of tennis and that a player who’s ranked 300 in the world can make a living instead of losing money every single week.
“I think it’s important for all of them to be as clear as Coco Gauff, for example, who said this very clearly.
“But they have to be even clearer by saying, listen, we would like to get this extra percentage, and this extra percentage will go to the players that are in the qualifications; 100% of that money.
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“Otherwise, people will think, okay, they’re prepared to boycott a Grand Slam just for them, who already make millions and millions, to make extra millions. It’s not really cool for the fans to think like that.
“Maybe another percentage will be for all the other players, but a substantial percentage of the extra money they would get should go to those players, and they have to say it clearly.”
What exactly tennis players want out of a Grand Slam boycott
The statement issued by players highlighted three areas of concern they would like to see amended at the four Grand Slams.
Prize money is the first one, with stars requesting a higher percentage of the tournament’s revenue to trickle down the draws to the lower-ranked players.
Another is player welfare. More specifically, how much Grand Slams are contributing to pension, healthcare and maternity pots.
The third area players are requesting a change in is with consultation. They want more of a say in tournament scheduling and late night finishes.
Wimbledon is the only major that has a late-night curfew, with matches cut off at the All England Club at 11 pm.
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