LONDON (AP) — Tennis star Jessica Pegula said a protest by top players over prize money at the French Open was “productive and worked well."
Seemed to be, because Wimbledon then increased its prize money by 20%.
But several players are continuing the protest — by limiting media appearances — this weekend and in the first week of the grass-court Grand Slam, which starts Monday, arguing that they deserve a bigger share of revenues.
“We’re very grateful
that Wimbledon has raised the prize money, but again it’s not really answering the questions that we’ve been asking,” Pegula said Saturday, when she limited her time with the press. “I don't know if the point is just not getting across.”
And the No. 4 player is already looking ahead to the last major on the calendar — the U.S. Open.
“We’ll see how it progresses ... after doing this today and over the next week and then going into obviously the next Slam which is the U.S. Open,” the 32-year-old American said. “I think we’ll kind of get a good grasp about where we’re really standing with the Slams and see what we can get out of that with talking to them.”
Wimbledon's total prize money including player per diems will be 64.2 million pounds ($85 million), the biggest annual increase, by sum of money, in the tournament’s history. The increase in 2013 represented a 40% hike over the prior year.
The singles champions at the All England Club will each get 3.6 million pounds ($4.75 million) — which also represents a 20% hike.
The protest began at the French Open, where players complained the total prize money only made up 14.3% of the clay-court tournament’s revenue.
On Wednesday, a statement by an advisory firm representing the players said the “direct action protest” would continue during Wimbledon's first week. The statement said the players’ share of Wimbledon’s projected revenue this year was 14.4%, which would be below the 14.9% share they received 10 years ago.
The All England Club has said it was “surprised and disappointed by this action.”
Novak Djokovic has not been a part of it.
“I have no views on that, to be honest. I’m not part of it. Just I’ll stay neutral on that,” the seven-time Wimbledon champion said Saturday
No. 7 Alex de Minaur took part in the Roland Garros protest but not this time, with the Australian saying in quotes reported by the BBC: “I thought that Wimbledon made a big step in the right direction, and something that should be noted. So this is for me to acknowledge their big step.”
Cam Norrie, who at No. 29 is the highest-ranked British men's singles player, noted improved facilities for players and said the prize money increase is “absolutely huge.”
Meanwhile, No. 5 Ben Shelton said “I back the players in this whole process” and rattled off a list of concerns. But he added that he wasn't limiting his time on media day “because Wimbledon is a special place.”
“They’ve always treated me well here,” Shelton said. “I think they have made an effort. I think that showed in the increase that they brought in prize money this year.”
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka described the 20% increase as a “great start.”
“I really hope we can finally get to the table and really get it done, come to a conclusion that everyone going to be happy with. Hopefully we’ll never have to do it again,” she said. “Once again, I hope we're not going to get to this boycotting again.”
Jannik Sinner limited a media appearance and deflected questions about the protest.
“It's getting better even though we are not at the point where we are 100% happy,” the Italian said.
Sinner said it's “not only about the money,” citing the need for improvements in player welfare. But he declined to engage in a question about Wimbledon's offer to work on creating a player council.
“I just think it's better if we don't discuss here, I don't like to talk about this at the moment,” he said.
The four-time Grand Slam champion also didn't want to address whether the players feel they are closer to a solution or a boycott.
“I think we talked enough about this at the moment. The Grand Slams know what we ask, then we see how it goes,” he said. “Again, I'm here now to talk about tennis.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
