The prize money dispute between the players and Grand Slams has been raging on for over a year now. The players were demanding their share of revenue should be increased from 12.5% to about 20–22%. However, the majors didn’t agree to these demands, leading players to stage a media protest at the French Open last month. Wimbledon tried to avoid such a conflict by announcing a record-breaking 20% increase to the prize money, taking the total to £64.2m (approximately $85.8m). But it is safe to say that the players still aren’t satisfied.

The players have decided to extend the media protest until the end of the first week (29 June to 5 July) of Wimbledon. Just like they had done in Paris, the players will only speak for a total of 15 minutes in press-conferences and interviews with the host broadcaster.

“The unified group of top ATP and WTA players competing at The Championships has decided to limit their pre-tournament media day availability,” stated the email sent by the player group to Wimbledon. “And their post-match interviews during the first week of the tournament (through Saturday, July 4), to 15 minutes — to include a press conference and mixed zone interviews with the host broadcaster.”

Though the players had initially welcomed the significant increase in prize money, the amount fell short of the £71m (approximately $93.5m) figure they were pushing for. While the revenue share at the SW19 currently stands at 14.4%, the player group was pushing for 16%.

Players will not be facing any fines for this protest as long as they fulfill contractual obligations to conduct brief post-match flash interviews with rights holders. The 15-minute limit that they have chosen for the protest is quite symbolic. It reflects the fact that the Grand Slams typically allocate only about 15% of revenues to prize money.

For context, the prize pool at this year’s Roland Garros had been raised to $72.3 million, which aligned with roughly 15% of its projected revenue. Though all the four Grand Slams have made a massive increase to their prize money ever since the players had put forward their demands last year, none of them match the 22% revenue share that they have been advocating for.

The All England Club (AELTC) isn’t taking the players’ actions lightly and have stated that they ‘surprised’ and ‘disappointed’ by the ongoing protest. With the players now taking drastic measures to ensure that the Grand Slams hear their voices, they can very well drag on this protest to the US Open as well if their demands aren’t met.

In fact, it is already reported that the players are planning a major boycott at the final Slam of the year with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner being at the center of it all.

Players to reportedly boycott the mixed doubles event at US Open

According to a recent report by The Times, several high-ranked players, including Sinner are planning to boycott the mixed doubles event at US Open. They are looking to target the event in particular after the US Open had introduced a new format last year.

The mixed doubles is now a two-day, standalone event that is held during the qualifying week. The competition has been reduced to just 16 pairs and boasts a prize money of $1 million for the winning team. This new format had attracted players like Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and more to the event.

A boycott of this event can certainly help the players in pressurizing the US Open and its organizers over the prize money dispute. This can lead to the US Open becoming the first Grand Slam to buy into the players’ demands.

It remains to be seen how much increase the Grand Slam will announce for the upcoming edition later this year.