Wimbledon players to restrict media to 15 minutes as prize money protest intensifies

Top players from both the ATP and WTA tours will cap their contractual media commitments at 15 minutes throughout the opening week of the Championships, which start on 29 June. The move extends an action that was previously confined to the pre-tournament media day at Roland Garros.

Players will limit their contractual media commitments at the tournament to 15 minutes — reflecting that Wimbledon currently pays slightly below 15% of revenues to players as prize money — for the duration of the first week of the Championships.

The All England Club responded by saying it was "surprised and disappointed". Earlier this month it announced a 20 per cent hike in the total prize fund to a record £64.2 million (€74.4 million, $84.5 million), calling it the largest year-on-year increase in the tournament's history. Chair Deborah Jevans had said she hoped the rise would satisfy the players.

Revenue share dispute

Players argue that the prize money represents only 14.4 per cent of projected revenues for Wimbledon, fractionally below the 14.9 per cent they received a decade ago. They had proposed lifting the purse to £71.2 million, 16 per cent of revenue, as an interim step, and ultimately want a 22 per cent share by 2030, in line with leading tour events. The current 14.4 per cent is well short of those targets.

Wimbledon defends its position

A spokesperson told the Press Association that the prize money increase was the largest ever and pointed to "investing hundreds of millions of pounds in upgrades to our player facilities as part of a three-year transformation to create a world class player performance environment". The club believes a 22 per cent share is unrealistic because of the greater responsibility it bears for facilities and the wider game. It has reportedly agreed to meet player representatives after the tournament to address all concerns.

Wimbledon puts the players at the heart of all our decisions and we invest significantly in them every year. This year’s total prize money fund has increased by 20 per cent to £64.2 million, which is the largest increase in our event’s history.

The protest's origins and key figures

The dispute first surfaced publicly at the French Open, where around 20 players, including women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, men’s No. 1 Jannik Sinner, and American Taylor Fritz, restricted their pre-tournament media availability to 15 minutes. Novak Djokovic did not participate. At Wimbledon the same core group is expected to lead the action, now extending it into the first week of match play.

It’s not against you, we’re just fighting for a fairer percentage.