All-out war in tennis... with Sabalenka calling to ‘boycott’ French Open

Several of the most important tennis players in the world formally expressed their disagreement with the pay they will be awarded in the next edition of French Open, in terms of prizes for participation and victories.

Among the solutions put forward by the players, there is even the idea of saying no to the next Grand Slam.

That group of tennis players demanding better conditions includes some of the best players in both the men's and women's draw: Italian Jannik Sinner, current No. 1 in the ATP ranking, and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, current WTA No. 1.

Also on the list is the men's tennis player with the most Grand Slams in history, Serbian Novak Djokovic, as well as Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, German Alexander Zverev, American Coco Gauff and Poland's Iga Swiatek, among others.

In a letter reported by AFP, this group of professionals complains that the distribution of funds is not equitable to what the French Open earns, despite the fact that the tournament announced that it will increase the payouts in its next edition, to be held from May 18 to June 7.

In addition, the tennis players recall that French Open achieved a 14% increase in revenue last year, demanding an improvement in the money awarded to them, something they have been doing since last year.

"According to tournament officials, Roland Garros generated 395m euros ($462m) in revenue in 2025, a 14 percent year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by just 5.4 percent, reducing players’ share of revenue to 14.3 percent," said Sinner, Sabalenka and co.

Sabalenka the most forceful: "I think at some point we will boycott it"

Apart from the letter, some of the tennis players wanted to speak out individually. One of them was Sabalenka.

In a press conference held this Tuesday, during the Masters 1000 in Rome, the WTA No. 1 put on the table a solution that would shake the foundations of world tennis: boycotting the French Open.

"Without us there wouldn't be a tournament and there wouldn't be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage," Sabalenka said, in remarks picked up by AFP.

"I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that's going to be the only way to fight for our rights," added the Belarusian, claiming that the conditions of the Grand Slams are unfair for all players.

Swiatek, another of the signatories of the letter, indicated that the boycott would be "a bit extreme kind of situation," calling on all parties to reach an understanding with the organizers of French Open.