Until yesterday, chaos surrounded the upcoming Wimbledon Championships as top players protested just before the grass-court Slam began. Even the current world No. 7, Coco Gauff, openly expressed frustration over the debate, criticizing the recent 20% increase and fueling concerns over a growing divide. However, the mood has shifted now as SW19 and the top players have finally reached a truce in the Grand Slam prize money dispute.

“Following constructive meetings between player representatives and AELTC leadership over the weekend, players have confirmed they will resume normal tournament media duties from Monday 29 June,” a statement published by the players before SW19.

“This decision is based on Wimbledon’s commitment to return with specific proposals addressing all three points of the players’ July 2025 submission. The underlying matters remain unresolved, and players will carefully evaluate the proposals once received,” it explained.

“Players will also be providing Wimbledon with further information they have requested in connection with those proposals during the course of the tournament. Constructive dialogue with Wimbledon and the other grand slams will continue. The players and the club will make no further comment at this time.”

The decision was welcomed by 51-year-old AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton. “I think it’s great news that we and they can now just concentrate on the championships and on the tennis,” she added. “We’ve had some really fruitful conversations over the weekend. They’ve been really positive.”

The breakthrough came after several leading players, including the ATP top seed Jannik Sinner, WTA top seed Aryna Sabalenka, and former world No. 2 Coco Gauff, shortened their Saturday press conferences at Wimbledon. They intended to keep each media appearance before the tournament under 10 minutes as part of the latest protest.

However, not every player from both the WTA and ATP sides took part in the action. That suggested there was some division among the top stars. 

Even earlier this month, the All-England Club announced record prize money for this year’s Championships. Even Deborah Jevans, the AELTC chair, confirmed the biggest prize money increase in the tournament’s history, with the total purse rising by 20%.

The total prize fund now stands at $84.9 million. Singles champions will each receive a record $4.8 million, while first-round losers are guaranteed $107,000 simply for competing.

Both the WTA and ATP players initially described the increase as a “genuine and significant step forward” in the current prize money debate. Even so, they believe their projected share of SW19 2026 revenues is only 14.4%, which they say is lower than it was 10 years ago despite rising revenues. 

And with the dispute now paused, more players have started joining the conversation, hinting that a similar protest can emerge at the last slam of the year.

Jessica Pegula warns of similar player protests before the US Open 2026

The recent player protest did not begin at the grass-court Slam. A similar movement had already taken place during the recently concluded Roland Garros.

At the French Open, both sets of players selected for opening-round press conferences planned to leave after 15 minutes. A similar dispute then carried over to Wimbledon. 

Even though the immediate conflict has eased as of now, the discussion is far from over. Several top-ranked players believe the same issues still need to be properly addressed.

American top seed Jessica Pegula suggested that similar protests could continue at the US Open in NY this August. “It’s something we felt was productive and worked well at the French [Open],” Pegula said yesterday.

Speaking about what comes next after SW19, Pegula added, “We’ll see how it progresses over the next couple of weeks [after SW19] and then going into the next slam, which is the US Open. I think we’ll get a good grasp about where we’re really standing with the slams.”

For now, the players are turning their full attention to SW19, which has already started. But with Pegula expecting similar action at the US Open, it will be interesting to see how the NY tournament organizers respond in the coming months and whether another protest eventually takes shape.