French Open 2026: How Players’ Boycott Morphed Into A Mild Protest

What began as a threat to boycott the 2026 French Open has been reduced to a mild media protest.

Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are the most notable names linked to a media protest over Grand Slam prize money and revenue sharing.

During the Italian Open, the three hinted at a possible boycott of the French Open or other Grand Slam tournaments. The hint hit headlines, created buzz, then fizzled.

Players are not boycotting this year’s French Open. Unless they are injured or didn’t make the draw, ATP and WTA Tour players are in Paris and will show up for matches, collect checks and ranking points.

However, they are waging a media protest, which includes limiting press interviews to 10 minutes.

“It’s more about respect, you know? Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back,” said Sinner during a press conference at the Italian Open. “It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players. Again, from men’s and women’s side, we are very, very equal.”

Players pushed ahead with the media protest after what they considered a lackluster response to a letter they sent to Grand Slam officials.

“I think the top 10 men, top 10 women, we wrote a letter. It’s not nice that after one year we are not even close to conclusion of what we would like to have,” said Sinner. “Talking in other sports, if the top athletes, they send important letters, I truly believe that within 48 hours you have not only a response but you also have a meeting with this kind of thing, so…So I do understand players talking about boycott ’cause it’s somewhere we also need to start.”

Although at least 20 players support some type of protest, the rollout of the boycott that never happened, came across a bit clumsy. Thursday, some reporters were surprised to see Gauff participate in the draw ceremony. On Friday, Sabalenka cut her English-speaking pre-tournament press conference short but she answered questions. Jessica Pegula joked about how it wasn’t difficult to endure shorter press conferences.

During her abbreviated press conference on Friday, Gauff called the media protest the first step in a process.

“I think for me it’s just not necessarily like gonna maybe make a big difference, like to the Slams. . .for this tournament, but I think it shows that we’re all, or a lot of us, are on the same page and have a kind of a collective action, other than just having conversations, ” she said. “I think this is the first, like, real point of action that we’ve done, and yeah, I think I’m proud of that we were all able to get on the same page.”

Why Players Wanted To Boycott The French Open

Today, top tennis players make more money than their predecessors. The biggest increases have happened on the women’s side. Gauff recently moved to No. 11 on the career prize money list. Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have already earned more career prize money than Venus Williams, who turned pro in 1994 and is still playing.

Major tournaments increase prize money regularly. The French Open total prize money for 2026 is 61.7 million euros ($72m), up 5.3 million euros ($6.1m) from last year, according to the ATP Tour. The U.S. Open offered a record $90 million in prize money in 2025.

The players claim the Majors are making more money and the player’s share remains low relative to what professional athletes in the NFL, NBA and MLB make (about 50 percent).

The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Ava Wallace reported that a French Tennis Federation (FFT) spokesperson responded to the protest via text message: “We regret the players’ decision, which impacts all of the tournament’s stakeholders: the media, broadcasters, the FFT and the entire tennis community, all of whom follow each edition of Roland-Garros with great enthusiasm.”

Last year, players raised concerns about prize money and their welfare. They allege that the FFT reduced their share of the revenue to 14.9 percent, down from 15.5 percent in 2024 and well off the standard 22 percent share at most ATP and WTA events.

When Tennis Players Boycotted A Grand Slam

More than 50 years ago, Arthur Ashe and ATP President Cliff Drysdale led a boycott of Wimbledon to protest a labor issue. Unlike the reduced media presence today’s superstars are talking about, in 1973, 81 players skipped Wimbledon, including 12 of the top 16 seeds.

The boycott was a major test for the newly formed ATP Tour (1972). When Nikki Pilic, who represented Yugoslavia, decided not to compete in Davis Cup, his country’s tennis association demanded that the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) ban him from all events, including the French Open.

The ATP players, including icons Stan Smith, John Newcombe, and Rod Laver, rallied around Pilic and staged the boycott. The move solidified the ATP as the voice of the men’s tour.

It’s unclear if today’s top players would be bold enough to boycott a Grand Slam.

“Not all players are currently aligned when it comes to the idea of a possible boycott of the French Open.,” Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou posted to Instagram. He also raised doubts about Sinner boycotting a Grand Slam.

Could today’s top players take a stance that requires more than spending less time with sports journalists?

“That’s a tough question,” said Daniil Medvedev in his pre-French Open press conference. “But I think at the moment you know what we want as players, and it’s good, because probably the first time, at least in my span on the tour, where players are kind of really united.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com