The 2026 French Open is set to go ahead as normal after a day of player protests, with the BBC reporting that players will fulfill their media obligations at the start of the tournament on Sunday.
The protests were the culmination of years of grievances over the proportion of prize money at Grand Slam tournaments, which lag far behind the ATP and WTA tournaments as a percentage of revenue.
advertisement
Play 2026 Soccer Pick ‘Em on FOX One and pick your players for the world’s biggest soccer tournament
Speaking to reporters at Friday’s pre-competition media day, a group of top players including Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swientek limited their playing time to just 15 minutes to represent 15% of the revenue generated from this year’s Roland Garros event.
For comparison, standard ATP and WTA events pay out 22% of revenue, and players hope to eventually match that at the Grand Slams.
According to the Guardian, on the same day as the protest, player representative Larry Scott and a group of player agents met with officials from the French Tennis Federation. The players were reportedly encouraged by the meeting.
Officials said the positive talks vindicated the media boycott. One day’s direct action enabled more than a year of behind-the-scenes discussions, one person said.
The FFT has promised to return with a detailed proposal within two weeks of the Roland Garros final, with players insisting that increased prize money must be included alongside discussions on benefits and player representation.
Player representatives told the BBC they had no intention of holding any protests during the tournament.
advertisement
FFT is sticking to this year’s prize money, which has particularly angered players. This year’s total pot of 61.7 million euros is 5.3 million euros more than last year, but players complain that their share of their income is expected to fall from 15.5% in 2025 to 14.9% in 2026.
Sabalenka caused a stir earlier this month by hinting at the nuclear option of a full-scale boycott of the Grand Slam tournaments. But the story is clearly not over, as the All England Tennis Club is set to announce this year’s Wimbledon prize money on June 11th.
