Wimbledon "surprised and disappointed" by player protest over tournament pay

Wimbledon increased its total prize pot by 20 per cent for the 2026 event, to 64.2m pounds, which is the largest in the Grand Slam's history.

However, the increase only represents 14.4 per cent of projected revenues that will be made by Wimbledon, which is lower than the 15% the players are protesting for.

As a result, all of the players at Wimbledon this year will cut their press conferences short to 15 minutes to represent the number they are after in prize money revenue.

This is the same protest as Roland Garros, despite Wimbledon opting to improve their prize money share in contrast to the French Grand Slam.

Following the announcement of the players' protest, Wimbledon have offered a short response, which has been reported by Sky Sports.

A spokesperson for the Grand Slam said: "We are surprised and disappointed by this action. Wimbledon puts the players at the heart of all our decisions, and we invest significantly in them every year.

"This is alongside investing hundreds of millions of pounds in upgrades to our player facilities as part of a three-year transformation to create a world-class player performance environment."

This echoes what All England Club chair, Debbie Jevans, said earlier this month when asked about potential protests over prize money at Wimbledon this year.

"Revenue does not take into account the investment we have made," she said. "We are a non-profit, we are very different to a Masters 1000 event, and everything goes back into the sport. I am frustrated that the message has not got across."

Tensions have been consistently rising over prize money revenue in recent months, with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka even suggesting there could be a Grand Slam boycott on the horizon.

Speaking ahead of Roland Garros this year, the World No 1 said: "I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that's going to be the only way to kind of fight for our rights.

"I feel like the show is on us," the Belarusian added. "I feel like without us there wouldn't be a tournament and there wouldn't be that entertainment."

This has been a sentiment that has been echoed by the likes of Jannik Sinner, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff, who have all said they would back a boycott.

It does not appear to be coming for Wimbledon, however, which is set to begin imminently. The third Grand Slam of the year begins on Monday, June 29th and until Sunday, July 12th.

Last year's event was won by Sinner on the men's side and Iga Swiatek on the women's side, both of whom won the Grand Slam for the first time in their careers.

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