Amplifying a movement launched at Roland-Garros, the headliners of world tennis have decided to limit their press conferences in the first week of the Wimbledon tournament (June 29-July 12) to a quarter of an hour to protest against what they consider to be an unequal distribution of income.
In a press release sent to the media on Wednesday, representatives of these players explain that these 15 minutes maximum that they will devote to their media obligations correspond to the share of income that currently accrues to them (a little less than 15%). At Roland-Garros, their action only focused on the pre-tournament conferences, during the “Media Days”.
“Following in-depth consultations with the players of the two circuits (ATP and WTA, Editor’s note), their representatives wrote to the management of Wimbledon to inform them of the planned action, while welcoming the 20% increase in the amount of financial allocations compared to the previous edition of the tournament,” they write.
For the 2026 edition of Wimbledon, which starts on June 29, the envelope reaches a record level of 64.2 million pounds sterling (74.4 million euros) compared to 53.5 million last year. This is “by far the largest annual increase in the history” of the tournament, tournament organizers said last week.
In their letter, the players recall having suggested last summer that the overall allocation be increased for this year to 71 million pounds (82 million euros). At Roland-Garros, around twenty players, including the world No.1 Aryna Sabalenkathe Polish Iga Swiatekfour times titled on Parisian clay, or the American Taylor Fritz, had applied the slogan.
“You know how much we respect you. It’s not against you, we’re just trying to fight for a fairer percentage,” Sabalenka explained to journalists.
Bad Homburg: Andreeva and Swiatek lose from the start
The young Russian Mirra Andreevarecent winner at 19 of Roland-Garros on clay, and the Polish Iga Swiatek, lost on Wednesday in Bad Homburg (Germany), a few days before the start of the Wimbledon tournament of which Swiatek is the title holder.
Exempted from the first round of this WTA 500 tournament in central Germany, near Frankfurt, Mirra Andreeva (5th in the world) lost against her compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova (19th) in two sets 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16, for her return tournament after Roland-Garros.
After her Porte d’Auteuil title, she postponed her return by seven days, giving up on lining up in Berlin last week, in order to take more time to rest, recover and better prepare for her grass season, with a view to Wimbledon (June 29-July 12).
