By Reinaldo Oliveros
Aryna Sabalenka, number 1 in the WTA ranking, believes that tennis players should unite for a boycott and demand more income from the four Colossal Slams tournaments.
Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are among the players who led a statement this Monday and expressed their disappointment at the profits that Roland Garros will grant this year.
“Without us there would be no tournament or show. I think we definitely deserve a higher percentage,” Sabalenka declared Tuesday at the Italian Open. “I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that will be the only way to fight for our rights,” the tennis player said.
Players in the ATP and WTA rankings are seeking to have better representation, life insurance and pensions from the four Colossal Slams of the year: Australian Originate, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Originate.
From @TheAthletic: Aryna Sabalenka, the females’s tennis world No. 1, thinks that stars will sooner or later boycott Colossal Slams due to disputes over prize money and participant illustration. https://t.co/Kxp9NDQP7B
— The Modern York Cases (@nytimes) Might possibly also 5, 2026
Iga Swiatek, four-time winner of Roland Garros, expressed that reaching a boycott is an extreme decision, although she hopes there will be meetings before the tournament in Paris.
“The most important thing is to have proper communication and dialogue with the governing bodies to have space to talk and perhaps negotiate. Hopefully before Roland Garros there will be an opportunity to hold these types of meetings and we will see how they develop,” Swiatek added. “But boycotting the tournament is a somewhat extreme measure.”
Roland Garros profits increase, but players do not see improvements
The Roland Garros organization announced this Thursday a 9.5% increase in the financial allocation for its next edition, placing the entire prize fund at $66.6 million dollars.
With this adjustment, the champions of the men’s and women’s individual tables will receive $3.02 million dollars each, which represents an increase of $324,000 compared to what was delivered in 2025.
Although according to reports, “the players’ participation in the revenue of the Roland Garros tournament has decreased from 15.5% in 2024 to the 14.9% expected for 2026,” the players said.
Keep reading:
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Sinner on Alcaraz’s absence: “Tennis needs him, I hope he returns for Wimbledon”