The threats of boycotting the Grand Slam were led by world number one Aryna Sabalenka who was disgusted by the news that Roland Garros would only be offering 15% of their tournament revenue into prize money.
Work has been done behind the scenes by the players who are desperate to get these numbers up, benefiting the lower ranked players emerging from the depths who may be having financial troubles which keeps their tennis careers uncertain. A player-led initiative called Project Red Eye are trying to persuade the four major tournaments to bring their revenue share in line with the 22%. This is what is provided at Masters and WTA 1000 level.
Ambitious motives by players, but Wimbledon will be watching
“Wimbledon has generated a highly successful product, and they’ve done that through a very discerning management strategy,” he said. “Whether you look at the way they invested in the retractable roof, the way they’ve looked at developing the footprint of the ground, they’ve been very careful and deliberate in the steps they’ve taken.”
He felt like they would listen to all the commotion going on, and that would motivate and persuade them to boost the prize money. “So I wouldn’t say they’re not going to listen to the noise, that would be silly. They’ll have their ear to the ground, they’ll see what’s going on. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if we see a slight uplift in the prize funds.
Aryna Sabalenka has threatened for a possible boycott if prize money is not raised at Grand Slam tournaments
The 22% the players are hopeful of achieving seems rather unlikely at this moment in time through the eyes of Wilson. “Whether it goes up to 22% I think is probably a little bit ambitious, but I certainly think there would be a more than tokenistic improvement in terms of offering to the players, as much as anything to keep them quiet for next year and the year after and the year after.”
Wilson urged the players to stay together and keep fighting for their case. However, with notable names such as Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu not supporting the boycott, this is a blow to their plans. Novak Djokovic has been vocal in the past about supporting the movement but is also reluctant of skipping any events to achieve this feat.
There is still time for the tournament at SW19 to change their motives on prize money. The calls from the top players will not be going away anytime soon, and it is on the Grand Slams tournaments to react before the overall scenario gets worse.