Aryna Sabalenka has revealed she thinks top tennis stars will boycott Grand Slams “at some point” amid the prize money row involving the sport’s four biggest tournaments.
WTA world No 1 Sabalenka was among a host of leading players who issued a statement criticising the prize money on offer at the 2026 French Open.
“Players’ share of Roland Garros tournament revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026,” the statement read.
“As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create.
“More critically, the announcement does nothing to address the structural issues that players have consistently and reasonably raised over the past year.
“There has been no engagement on player welfare and no progress towards establishing a formal mechanism for player consultation within Grand Slam decision-making.”
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Players who put their names to the joint statement
Women: Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa and Mirra Andreeva.
Men: Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Alex De Minaur, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In April 2025, the same group of players co-signed and sent a letter to the four majors to demand a substantial increase in prize money at the events.
What Sabalenka said about a potential Grand Slam boycott
During her pre-tournament press conference at the 2026 Italian Open, Sabalenka made some strong comments as she addressed whether players could boycott the Slams.
“I think at some point we will boycott it (Grand Slams), yeah,” Sabalenka asserted.
“I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.
“Let’s see how far we can get… if it’s going to take players for boycott.
“I feel like nowadays, we girls can easily get together and go for this because some of the things, I feel like, it’s really unfair to the players. I think at some point it’s going to get to this.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion went on to argue that players should receive a greater percentage of the revenue generated by the majors.
“Definitely when you see the number and you see the amount the players [are] receiving… I feel like the show is on us,” said the 28-year-old Belarusian.
“I feel like without us, there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage.
“What can I say? I just really hope that all of the negotiation that we are having, we at some point are going to get to the right decision, to the conclusion that everyone will be happy with.”
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