FRENCH OPEN: DISGRUNTLED STARS SAY 'PAY MORE OF WE INTERACT LESS'

Top tennis players hit back as French Open reduces players’ share of prize money

AFP

You know something is off when news of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic appointing a new coach or seven-time Major winner Carlos Alcaraz pulling out from both French Open and Wimbledon due to a right wrist injury don’t make tennis headlines like it should. True, Jannik Sinner has been hogging the limelight in recent months during his record-breaking Masters 1000 title-run and is the odds-on favourite to win his first French Open as well, but none of these developments are in the spotlight as we head into the second Grand Slam of the year.

Instead, it is the rising murmurs of discontent among top players regarding their share of the prize money that has grabbed all the attention. L'Equipe newspaper reported Wednesday that many players competing at Roland Garros, which begins Sunday, are planning to limit their conversations with reporters to 15 minutes during Friday's traditional pre-tournament media day.

The French tennis federation (FFT), which organizes the French Open, said in a statement to The Associated Press that it regrets the players' initiative "which penalizes all stakeholders involved in the tournament: the media, broadcasters, federation staff and the entire tennis community that enthusiastically follows each edition of Roland Garros."

For the record, men’s No 1 Sinner, women’s top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka and No 4 and defending French Open champion Coco Gauff were among leading players who threatened a boycott of the Slams earlier this month if they didn't start receiving more compensation. According to them, the players' share of revenue at the French Open had been reduced to an alleged 14.3 per cent – compared to 22 per cent at other ATP and WTA events. They say the event generated 395 million euros in 2025, a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by just 5.4 per cent, reducing players' share of revenue to 14.3 per cent.

The players are also seeking better representation, health options and pensions from the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The Australian Open this year increased the players' compensation by 16 per cent, and the US Open prize money last year went up by 20 per cent.

While conversations have mostly been about boycotts and disgruntled players, 38-year-old Djokovic, a three-time winner at the French Open, appointed Viktor Troicki, his former Serbian teammate and the man who guided him to Olympic glory in 2024, as his new coach. With Sinner in such commanding form leaving all his supposed rivals like world No 3 Alexander Zverev and No 4 Djokovic in the dust, it really would take a bad day in the office for the Italian to not win his first title at Roland Garros.

The woman’s draw is a bit more open, with Sabalenka not having a great run on clay in the lead-up and the likes of world No 2 Elena Rybakina snapping at her heels. And of course, never count out world No 3 and four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, especially on this surface.

- Jaydip Sengupta

WIMBLEDON IS MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA TO TRY TO PROTECT PLAYER'S FROM.CYBER BULLYING

 LONDON (AP) — The All England Club is monitoring social media to try to help protect players at Wimbledon from cyberbullying for the first time this year.

“This is not something you’ll see in the public domain at all. You won't see us shout about it. But effectively, we are scrolling social media for any of this type of content, and it means that we can get information that we haven't had in the past. We’re not just relying on what the player might be saying has happened to them,” tournament director Jamie Baker said Friday. “Also, if there is something that is of concern, that’s when our security (team) … can help do something about it.”

Baker said the new initiative is similar to what the French Tennis Federation did during the French Open last year, when it began paying a company to provide players with software that uses artificial intelligence to block negative comments.

“Tennis is doing a lot more of this now, so I think in general, for the athletes, it’s really positive that we’re taking this step,” said Baker, a former player.

He said AI plays a role in the All England Club's efforts in this area, but people also are involved in keeping an eye on what's being directed at competitors online during the two-week Grand Slam tournament that finishes on July 14.

Players can opt in for the service and choose to have full scans of what is being posted on social media. Messages can include anger expressed by gamblers who lost money on a particular match, racist comments and even sometimes rise to the level of death threats, players say.

“The basis of it is if they’ve got anything that we think is a concern or worth flagging, ultimately, it's engaging with the player," Baker said. "The benefit of having it is, you do have the ability to ... officially register what's going on."

After a discussion with the player, the tournament could reach out to the police, if deemed necessary, although Baker declined to say whether that has happened yet.

“I guess, if it got to a point where there was any type of criminal activity,” law enforcement authorities would be brought in, Baker said, adding: “But that would be out of our hands. We'd obviously pass that on. ... But we’re not obviously stepping in and becoming the police.”

- HOWARD FENDRICH