Sabalenka cuts media short as French Open players protest

World number one Aryna Sabalenka cut short her French Open news conference as part of a 15-minute limit on media duties in protest at the prize money on offer.

Players believe a greater share of the revenue generated by the Grand Slam tournaments should be allocated to prize money.

The 15-minute limit is meant to symbolise the 15% of revenue the French Open currently offers.

Several other leading players – including men’s world number one Jannik Sinner and four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek – also followed the ‘work-to-rule’ directive in Friday’s pre-tournament media day.

Novak Djokovic, who has regularly spoken out on behalf of players’ rights, did not take part in the action but supported the principle behind it.

Belarus’ Sabalenka has been a leading voice in the discussions and recently said players will boycott a Grand Slam “at some point” over the dispute.

The 28-year-old spent five minutes with the host broadcaster for an on-camera interview before a 10-minute news conference with written reporters.

She ended the English-speaking portion of her news conference to allow time for questions from her nation’s reporters.

“I’m here to talk to you because I have respect for you guys,” Sabalenka said.

“We just wanted to make our point and we are united – 15 minutes is better than zero.

“As I said a thousand times today, I have huge respect, but we know what’s happening here, so thank you so much.”

‘No respect’ and feeling ‘ignored’ – what did players say?

Reigning French Open women’s champion Coco Gauff believes the collective action from players in an individual sport demonstrates the strength of feeling about the issue.

“I’m proud that we were all able to get on the same page,” the 22-year-old American said.

Italy’s Sinner pointed to a lack of “respect” towards the players, while American world number eight Taylor Fritz said they acted because they “felt ignored”.

Former world number one Djokovic did not participate because he was not part of the action or the discussions leading to it.

“I haven’t been part of the process, the conversation, the planning or decision-making so I can’t comment on that,” the 24-time major champion said.

“But what I can do is reiterate my own position that I have always been on the players’ side and tried to advocate for players’ rights and a better future for players.

“We tend to forget how little the number of people that live from this sport is. I will never stop mentioning or talking about that.”

What are the players demanding?

The group of top-20 players collectively deciding to limit their media commitments is the latest step in a long-running dispute.

The players held an initial meeting with the Grand Slams last year and further talks have taken place since,but there has not been as much progress as the players would have liked.

The key issues the players want to change are:

• Prize money – a higher ratio of prize money-to-revenue in acknowledgement of what players contribute to the financial success of the tournaments, with more money trickling down to lower-ranked players

• Player welfare – how much the Grand Slams are willing to contribute to pension, healthcare and maternity pots

• More consultation – the players want a say in major decisions made by the Slams to alleviate gruelling schedules, late night finishes and elongated tournaments

The group has asked the Slams to pay 22% of their revenue in prize money by 2030, arguing the 15% the French Open is offering is inadequate.

This year’s Roland Garros prize money has increased by 9.5%, but the annual increase was 20% at last year’s US Open and nearly 16% at January’s Australian Open.

French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she was “very sad” about the action taken by the players but remained “deeply confident” the issue will be resolved.

Mauresmo and French Tennis Federation (FFT) president Gilles Moretton are due to meet with former WTA chairman Larry Scott, who represents the players in the dispute, on Friday.

The participating players would not be drawn on whether a boycott of the majors could be their next step.

“I don’t know if I want to start throwing around the ‘b-word’,” Fritz said.

“I don’t think we should really make big threats like that unless we’re fully ready to do it.

“But if it gets to a point where something does have to change if we are ignored, that’s a conversation to have.”

French Open

Sunday, 24 May – Sunday, 7 June

Live text commentaries of key matches on the BBC Sport website and app, along with daily commentary live from Court Philippe-Chatrier across 5 Live Sport, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app

What are the rules?

Grand Slam rules state that all main-draw players are required to participate in “feature media opportunities” before and during the tournament “in order to help drive engagement with the sport”.

Media sessions are meant to “enable players to put across their opinions on their performance and provide valuable exposure to the media and fans”.

A player can be fined up to £50,000 if they do not appear at all – unless a valid reason has been communicated to the governing bodies.

The players who fulfilled their core commitments on Friday, but left after 15 minutes, will not be punished.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)