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Jannik Sinner backs French Open boycott threat over prize money row: ‘We give much more than what we are getting back'
Jannik Sinner said that the issue hasn't been resolved, despite the top-10-ranked men and women players writing a letter to the Grand Slam organisers last year.
Jannik Sinner backed the players' decision to threaten a boycott of the upcoming French Open, voicing their demands for an increase in prize money. Sinner's comments came after even Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff also supported the demands, stating that players are set to get less than 15 per cent of the tournament revenue. They had demanded 22 per cent of the tournament's revenue.
The controversy began when the Roland Garros organisers announced a 9.5 per cent increase in prize money to 61.7 million euros. In response, the players said in a statement that their tournament revenue share had decreased from 15.5 per cent in 2025 to a projected 14.9 per cent in 2026.
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'The most important is respect, and we just don't feel it': Jannik Sinner
Speaking to reporters in Rome, Sinner said, "It's more about respect, you know? Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back. It's not only for the top players, it's for all of us players."
"Of course, we talk about money. The most important is respect, and we just don't feel it."
Sinner also remarked that the issue hasn't been resolved, despite the top-10-ranked men and women players writing a letter to the Grand Slam organisers last year.
"It's not nice that after one year we are not even close to conclusion of what we would like to have," he said.
"So I do understand players talking about boycott 'cause it's somewhere we also need to start. Now it's been a very long time with this. Then we see in the future," he added.
On Tuesday, Sabalenka said that players would eventually boycott the tournament due to unfair treatment. "I think at some point we will boycott it (the tournament), yeah. I feel like that's going to be the only way to fight for our rights," she said.
"Let's see how far we can get, if it's going to take players for boycott... Some of the things, I feel like it's really unfair to the players. I think at some point it's going to get to this."
But she is also hopeful of reaching a resolution in the ongoing negotiations.
Despite the prize money boost, the French Open still trails behind other Grand Slams. Last year, the US Open paid out $ 90 million, and Wimbledon paid out $ 53.5 million. Meanwhile, this year the Australian Open had a record prize money of 80.6 million dollars.
