TOP tennis players will stage a week-long media protest at Wimbledon – as they try to squeeze more money out of the All England Club coffers.
Leading stars such as world No1s Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner will commit to limiting contracted media appearances to 15 minutes during this weekend’s TV, radio and written press activity.
Sign up for the Sport newsletter
Thank you!
Jannik Sinner and other top players will limit their contracted media appearances to 15 minutes Credit: PA
Women’s No1 Aryna Sabalenka is also joining the action Credit: Getty
This is a similar stance to what took place last month at the French Open in Paris. But on this occasion it will extend to the full duration of the first week of the 14-day Championships.
On June 11, Wimbledon announced it would dish out a record £64.2million prize pot for all the players.
The AETLC bumped up the cash on offer at the 139th edition of the famous grass-court tournament to appease those who had demanded a major uplift.
In 2025, the total fund was £53.5m but that has gone up by an incredible £10.7m within the space of 12 months.
WORLDIE OFFERS
World Cup 2026 free bets and offers: Best new football sign-up deals
BALL OVER
Wimbledon qualifying suspended on every court as players forced off
The singles champions on the weekend of July 11-12 will earn an unprecedented £3.6m – £600,000 more than what Pole Iga Swiatek and Italian Jannik Sinner received last summer.
First-round losers will now get £80,000, an improvement of £14,000 from the previous event.
Yet the organisers behind Project RedEye claim Wimbledon “currently pays slightly below 15 per cent of revenues to players as prize money”.
The cut-off after 15 minutes is therefore a symbolic gesture as they push for more dosh for 2027.
WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS
Wimbledon bosses have dramatically bumped up the prize money at this year’s tournament Credit: Alamy
An email detailing the demands was sent on Wednesday evening and caught Wimbledon chiefs by surprise.
It will largely hurt the main fee-paying right holders, like the BBC, who pay millions of pounds for coverage and expect interview access in return.
The organisers behind the protest, who had sitdown chats with Wimbledon’s leadership, welcomed the recent 20 per cent increase in prize money compared to the 2025 Championships.
Yet they claim they have received no substantive response from Wimbledon on players’ proposals on contributions to a player welfare fund and a formal player council.
