Paris: Top tennis players walked the talk on Media Day at the French Open.The Friday before is bookmarked for pre-championship press conferences, broadcaster engagement and tournament obligations. At Roland Garros, where TV rights are split by territory, top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, along with several other ATP and WTA stars, escalated matters by limiting and, in some cases, cancelling engagements with rights holders and saying nay to one-on-ones with the tournament website.Seated on the dais deep beneath the mighty Court Philippe-Chatrier, Aryna Sabalenka called time on her press conference with written media after just eight minutes. The world No.1 was not budging from the players’ united stand of 15-minutes and no more on Media Day. “We want to make our point. We (the players) are united,” Sabalenka said. “I’m here to talk to you because I respect you guys. Thank you so much for being here, we all know what’s happening.”What the pros are protestingThe players have closed ranks to force the four Grand Slams to raise the share of tournament revenue distributed to players to 22% in line with what players receive at ATP and WTA 1000 events. They have also called for contributions toward pensions, health insurance and maternity benefits, while demanding a greater say in the structural decisions shaping the sport.In March last year, the top-10 men at the time and all but one of the top-10 women (Elena Rybakina) wrote to the Grand Slams outlining those demands. According to players, the majors never responded.The issue escalated in the lead-up to Roland Garros, when players across both the ATP and WTA Tours voiced collective frustration following the announcement of prize money for the clay-court major. In a media statement released earlier this month, players highlighted what they described as the central issue. The players’ share of Roland Garros revenue had fallen from 15.5% in 2024 to a projected 14.9% in 2026, which is why they restricted Media Day obligations to 15 minutes.Jannik Sinner, 24, already one of the sport’s strongest voices, said the players’ stand was ultimately about respect.“When we have to wait for more than a year for even a small response, it’s not nice,” Sinner said of the first of the two letters players sent to the Grand Slams. “We are not only talking about prize money, we are also talking about pension, which is a very important topic, and also decision-making.“Now three of the four Grand Slams start on Sunday, but we don’t know if they want to start on Saturday or Friday. We would like to have a conversation about that,” the Italian said.Sabalenka, a four-time major winner, raised the bar. “It’s not about me, it’s about the players who are lower in the ranking,” she said. “It’s not easy to live in this tennis world with that percentage they are earning. As the World No. 1, I have to fight for those players.”Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major winner, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Friday going through Media Day commitments at regular pace, wasn’t part of the protest.“I haven’t been part of the process, the conversation or the planning,” he said, “But what I can do is reiterate my own position, I have always been on the players’ side.”Daniil Medvedev, the mercurial maverick, seeded six here, took heart in players coming together.“Probably for the first time, at least in my years on the Tour, players are kind of really united,” he said. “We don’t want to hurt ourselves, we don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want a discussion with the Slams, which we feel they are maybe not wanting enough to discuss.”For now, the protests remain measured, shortened media duties, cancelled broadcaster appearances, carefully worded statements from the game’s biggest stars. Yet on the eve of another Roland Garros, the message from the locker room is unmistakable, this is not just about money, but about securing a seat at the table.
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