Aryna Sabalenka walked out of her French Open news conference on Friday after sticking to a pre-tournament, work-to-rule directive that limited media duties to 15 minutes as a protest over prize-money shares.
The 15-minute cap is meant to symbolise the roughly 15% of tournament revenue that players say the French Open currently offers, and Sabalenka followed the script exactly: five minutes for an on-camera interview with the host broadcaster and a 10-minute news conference with written reporters before ending the English portion so she could answer questions from her nation’s press. "I'm here to talk to you because I have respect for you guys," she said, adding, "We just wanted to make our point and we are united - 15 minutes is better than zero." Later she told reporters, "As I said a thousand times today, I have huge respect, but we know what's happening here, so thank you so much."
The gesture was not isolated. Several other leading players — including Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek — also followed the 15-minute directive on Friday, and Coco Gauff said, "I'm proud that we were all able to get on the same page." Novak Djokovic did not take part in the action but issued public support for the principle behind it.
Taylor Fritz summed up the players' mood in blunt terms, saying they had acted because they "felt ignored." Players want a greater share of the revenue generated by the Grand Slams; they note that typical ATP and WTA events allocate about 22% of revenue to players while Roland Garros is offering closer to 15% — a figure players point to as the reason for the media protest.
The arithmetic behind the row is simple and sharp. This year the French Open prize-money pot is 61.7 million euros and the singles champions will each receive 2.8 million euros, a figure that is 250,000 euros higher than in 2025. Players point to other developments in recent seasons: they say the French Open share of revenue was 15.5% in 2024, and that the event generated 395 million euros in 2025. Organisers raised prize money by about 10% in 2025 after the US Open increased its pool by 20% and the Australian Open by 16%.
The stunt was engineered to force the issue onto the table. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said prize money "will not change this year," telling reporters bluntly: "No, we are not going to change anything. We are going to initiate discussions, and that is what everyone wants." She added that "the discussions will continue, probably after the tournament." A meeting between tournament organisers and players and their representatives was expected on Friday.
The tension is clear: organisers are pointing to an increased pot and higher headline sums for champions, while players argue the percentage they receive is out of step with the rest of the tour and with recent growth in Grand Slam revenues. Sabalenka has warned in recent days that players could boycott a Grand Slam at some point if the dispute is not resolved; for now the action has taken the quieter form of a coordinated media cut-off to underline the 15% figure.
Fritz's remark that players "felt ignored" captures why the protest landed where it did: not at the net, not on the court, but in front of the cameras and microphones where players can turn attention to how the spoils are divided. With Mauresmo refusing to alter the sums this year and talks slated to continue after Roland Garros, the immediate effect is a show of unity and pressure; the substantive change the players demand will depend on what comes out of the promised discussions once the tournament is done.
For readers following the draw, Taylor Fritz was also mentioned in the tournament pairing; Nishesh Basavareddy draws No. 7 seed Taylor Fritz in Roland Garros opener at the link:
