This will be the tennis players' protest at the start of Roland Garros

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The war between tennis players and Grand Slams has only just begun. After the battle began before the start of the Rome Masters 1000, where the top players from both the men's and women's draw sent a letter to Roland Garros expressing their discontent with the prize money of this edition, as it represents 14% of all tournament revenues.

However, in Rome, when players were asked, the discontent escalated further, and talks of a possible boycott began. An initiative proposed by Aryna Sabalenka and supported by the majority of the world's top players, with the exception of Iga Swiatek, who although expressed unhappiness, found the idea of a boycott excessive, and Novak Djokovic, who remained somewhat ambiguous and distanced from the fight after years of constant struggle.

The boycott did not materialize at Roland Garros. It remains to be seen if it may happen at Wimbledon or the US Open, the last two Grand Slams of the year that have not yet officially announced their prize money for the 2026 edition.

The protest will only last 15 minutes at the Media Day of each player at Roland Garros

There won't be a boycott, but players are not giving up. Therefore, as reported by L’Equipe, besides expressing their discontent in statements, they plan to finish their Media Days (the day dedicated to media before the competition starts) once the fifteen-minute mark is reached and will not answer further questions or give more interviews.

This decision, if confirmed, will not be well-received by the media or the tournament organizers. Hence, there will be a meeting on Thursday between the Federación Francesa de Tenis (FFT), the Roland-Garros management, and agents of some top players to address this situation. Moreover, it is anticipated that this gesture will not be the last made by players during the tournament.

The tournament organizers acknowledge that this limit of fifteen minutes for each player on Media Day will be enforced and have issued an official statement: "We regret this decision by the players, which affects everyone involved in the tournament: the media, TV networks, federation teams, and the entire tennis community who eagerly follows each edition of Roland Garros."

After the boycott threat, top players will express their discontent during the Media Day on Friday at Roland-Garros

➡️ https://t.co/Pel5Lf3hxA pic.twitter.com/HIBgU9xS1p

— L'Équipe (@lequipe) May 20, 2026

“The FFT maintains ongoing dialogue with the players and has launched new initiatives to engage directly with them in recent weeks: at the beginning of May, it proposed a meeting, to be held this Friday, May 22, with the affected players and their representatives. The FFT is ready for a direct and constructive dialogue on governance issues, aiming to give players a greater voice in decision-making, contribute to their social protection, and enhance value distribution,” concludes the letter.

We will have to see what happens this Friday, but it's clear that this edition of Roland Garros will be the most intense and eventful in recent years. And who knows if this is just the beginning of the boycott for the upcoming Grand Slams.
 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Así será la protesta de los tenistas en el inicio de Roland Garros