Article by Alexandru Stanciu – Published Tuesday, 05 May 2026, 17:37 / Updated Tuesday, 05 May 2026 17:37
WTA world leader Aryna Sabalenka (28, #1 WTA) has announced that she is prepared to boycott Roland Garros to force a fairer distribution of prize money.
The statement was made during the press conference of the tournament in Rome. Sabalenka explained why, along with other professional tennis players, she expressed her “deep disappointment” with the Grand Slam prize money on the Paris clay on Monday.
Sabalenka played the final at Roland Garros in 2025, losing to Coco Gauff 7-6(7), 2-6, 4-6.
Aryna Sabalenka: “At some point we will have to boycott”
“We put on a show. Without us there would be no tours, without us there would be no entertainment. I think we should be paid better. At some point we will have to boycott if this is the only way to defend our rights“, said Aryna Sabalenka, according to sportnieuws.nl.
Some of the most famous names in world tennis, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff, issued an official statement in which they vehemently criticized the organizers of the 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
The tennis players demanded a more equitable distribution of the prize money, requesting an increase in the percentage allocated to the players to 22 percent.
Although Roland Garros has increased prize money for this year's edition (by 9.5 percent to 61.7 million euros), Sabalenka and others disagree with their share: “It will probably remain under 15 percent, well below the 22 percent requested.”
Roland Garros generated €395m in revenue in 2023, up 14% year-on-year, but the prize pool grew by just 5.4%, reducing the players' share of revenue to 14.3%. With revenue estimated at more than €400 million for this year's tournament, the percentage allocated to prizes is likely to be below 15%, well below the 22% required by players to bring the Grand Slam tournaments in line with the standards of the ATP and WTA circuits.
– The announcement of the top tennis players
