French Open boycott fears grow as Jannik Sinner says players do not feel respected

Players have threatened to boycott the French Open if their prize money is not increased because they do not feel respected, world number one Jannik Sinner said on Thursday.

Fellow top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka and defending Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff had supported the drastic step on Tuesday, saying players will likely receive less than 15 per cent of tournament revenue, well short of the 22 per cent they demanded.

The dispute between the French Open organisers and players deepened after the tournament announced a 9.5 per cent increase in prize money to 61.7 million euros ($100.3 million).

Players said in a statement that their share in the tournament revenue had decreased from 15.5 per cent in 2024 to 14.9 per cent projected in 2026.

"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," Sinner told reporters ahead of the Italian Open in Rome.

"Of course, we talk about money. The most important is respect, and we just don't feel it."

Sinner said the issue had not been resolved despite the top-10 ranked men and women writing a letter to the grand slam organisers last year, asking for a bigger share of the revenue.

"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."

Novak Djokovic also backed Sabalenka's comments, praising her for stepping up as a leader.

"I'm glad that there is willingness from the leaders of our sport, like Sabalenka, to really step up and really understand the dynamics of how the tennis politics works and understand the nuances and really what needs to be done not only for her benefit and well-being, but for everyone," he said.

"That's a true leadership for me and I think she needs to maintain that. I salute that. That's all I have to say about that."

Djokovic, who has been vocal about players' issues throughout his career, was one of the founders of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which said the row over French Open prize money shows the sport needs reform.

Reuters

Aussie women endure tough start to Italian Open

Meanwhile, Australia's top women players, past and present, have both endured a miserable day at the Italian Open in Rome, leaving just Talia Gibson to fly the flag for her country at the prestigious WTA 1000 event at the Foro Italico.

On her 33rd birthday, former number one Ajla Tomljanović ran into another of the Italian youngsters who are following the Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini trail as she was defeated by qualifier Noemi Basiletti 7-5 6-4 on Thursday.

Then Maya Joint, the current leader of the pack, returned to the court after a two-month injury break, only to deliver a rusty, error-strewn performance in a 7-5 6-2 defeat to Swiss Viktorija Golubic.

That leaves 21-year-old Gibson the sole Aussie woman left in the last-64 as she prepares to tackle Russian 19th seed Diana Shnaider in the second round on Friday.

Tomljanović had to resume her opening match on Thursday, which had been held over because of the rain in Rome, with her 20-year-old opponent holding on to an overnight 5-3 first-set lead.

Australia's birthday girl Tomljanović, who'd been knocked out in the qualifiers, probably felt her real present was still being in the competition after she'd been handed a 'lucky loser' spot when Marta Kostyuk pulled out with hip and ankle problems.

But world number 427 Basiletti, a wildcard playing the first WTA main-draw match of her career after a spectacular run through qualifiers where she beat two other top-100 players, was determined to make Tomljanović her third high-profile victim and took the opening set even after the Australian had levelled at 5-5.

In the second set, world number 88 Tomljanović appeared as if she might be gradually wearing her much-lower ranked and inexperienced opponent down as she hit back from 4-1 down to level, but she then coughed up a poor service game at 4-5, eventually succumbing on the third match point after two hours.

World number 34 Joint, who's been out with a back injury, unsurprisingly looked out of sorts to start with in her comeback outing, the 20-year-old swiftly going 4-0 down before beginning to find her range just a bit too late in the opening stanza.

The US-born Queenslander did produce some encouraging shot-making, but it was mixed with far too many unforced errors — 18 in each set — although there was nothing wrong with her fighting spirit as she saved six match points in the penultimate game before succumbing to veteran world number 90 Golubic.

The tournament's big guns started firing on Thursday with world number one Sabalenka easing past former Wimbledon and French Open champ Barbora Krecjikova 6-2 6-3, Coco Gauff defeating Czech Tereza Valentova 6-3 6-4 and Paolini beating Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4.

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