Aryna Sabalenka believes the top tennis players will boycott grand slam tournaments in an attempt to resolve their dispute with the four events, which they argue should provide players with a greater share of their growing revenues.
“I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah,” said the world No 1 during her pre-tournament press conference at the Italian Open. “I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.”
Her comments come after a group of the top 20 male and female players released a statement criticising the prize money levels offered at the French Open, which begins this month. Sabalenka argued the players should be better compensated for their influence on tournament finances.
“Definitely when you see the number and you see the amount the players [are] receiving … I feel like the show is on us,” the Belarusian said. “I feel like without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage. What can I say? I just really hope that all of the negotiation that we are having, we at some point are going to get to the right decision, to the conclusion that everyone will be happy with.”
Coco Gauff, the world No 4, said she also believes it could take a boycott for the players to achieve their aims, citing successful action taken by female basketball players in the US. “I kind of agree with that,” she said of Sabalenka’s comments, “just taking what the WNBA accomplished. They also have a union, so I think that helps.
“I definitely think, not from my experience, because I don’t have a lot of life experiences, but from the things I’ve seen with other sports, usually to make massive progress and things like this, it takes a union. We have to become unionised in some way. I think you can put pressure on media and things like that. For all of us showing up, everyone’s going to act as normal. I definitely agree with her on that standpoint. I think a few other players agree, too.”
The player group has published a series of signed private letters and public statements aimed at the four grand-slam tournaments – the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open – over the past year arguing players receive an unfairly low share of revenue. They have also called for contributions to player welfare funds, such as player pension initiatives promoted by the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association.
Iga Swiatek, the former world No 1, offered her own measured criticisms of the four majors on Tuesday. “I think we’ve been pretty reasonable in terms of our proposal and getting the fair share of revenue,” she said. “The most important thing honestly is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate. Hopefully before Roland Garros there’s going to be opportunity to have these type of meetings and we’ll see how they go.”
Swiatek said she was unsure whether players would be willing to boycott tournaments but insisted that off-court issues in recent years have united the top female players. “I think we have [been] pretty clear and [hold a] similar vision. But boycotting the tournament, it’s a bit extreme kind of situation. I don’t know. I guess we as players are here to play as individuals, and we’re competing against each other. There have been situations like that, so it’s really hard for me to say how it would work, if it’s even there in the picture. For now, I haven’t heard anything.”
Sabalenka, however, believes that players would be on the same page. “Let’s see how far we can get,” she said. “If it’s going to take players for boycott. I feel like nowadays, we girls can easily get together and go for this because 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.”
