Boycott threats and press conference walk-out plans have overshadowed the start to the 2026 French Open.
Furious with the prize money on offer in Paris, several players, including Aryna Sabalenka, confirmed they would be willing to boycott Grand Slams.
In the short term, players have reportedly agreed to walk out of their pre-tournament press conferences after 15 minutes, in a show of defiance.
Will players regret their decision to walk out of press conferences at Roland Garros?
Tensions are high in Paris!
French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has now delivered her verdict on the controversy and shared whether she would consider increasing prize money for this year’s event.
Amelie Mauresmo says French Open prize money won’t increase this year and comments on walk-out plans
During an interview with ‘Tennis Actu TV‘, Mauresmo was asked if she would consider negotiating prize money for this year’s tournament with the players.
“No, they are talks to make sure that everyone is happy in the future, the next years, and that tennis keeps growing, and everyone is happy about everything,” she said.
She was also asked about the plans for top players to walk out of press conferences and whether she was surprised to see Coco Gauff appear at the official draw ceremony.
“What I’ve been told by most of the agents of the top players is that they are only going to do 15 minutes of the pre-interviews or the media before the tournament,” said Mauresmo.
“I think all of the other things, including the defending champions coming to the draw ceremony, is not part of everything.
“But what I want to say is that we regret this decision concerning the press conference.
“The communication, the talks are happening and will happen, will continue to happen, tomorrow.
“But probably, and most likely, we will be able to move forward after the tournament, because the players and us, we are obviously quite busy.
“I’m confident that with this communication, everyone can make a step towards each other and that we will find a way to make it work.”
Mauresmo didn’t like to use the word ‘boycott’ for the press conference walk-out plan, for good reason.
Is a French Open boycott realistic?
Players aren't happy with the prize money on offer…
“I don’t want to use the boycott word for this decision; we regret it, but that’s how they want to proceed,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s good for anyone in tennis to be honest, but that’s how it is.
“We will talk to make sure, again, that everyone is happy, everyone is trying to make sure that everything is working, so we will see.”
From an outside perspective, you might wonder why players are complaining about prize money when they earn millions of dollars.
Well, the issue isn’t the money on offer; it’s the revenue share players are set to be awarded.
Players are demanding 22%, but at this year’s French Open, they will receive just 15%.
It’s that 7% discrepancy that has caused the back-and-forth between the players and the Grand Slams.
Not prepared to boycott just yet, the players plan to walk out of their pre-tournament press conferences at the 15-minute mark (in reference to the 15% revenue share), sending a message to the French Open organisers.
However, their plan might not work, for one simple reason…
Pre-tournament press conferences rarely last longer than 15 minutes
Journalist Ben Rothenberg shared the following message on X.
“The player group agitating for more money from the Slams (and working with consultants on strategy for this goal) revealed a plan to walk out of pre-RG press conferences after 15 minutes. But nearly no press conferences last that long?” he said.
He then posted a table displaying the length of pre-tournament press conferences at this year’s Australian Open.
Only two players, Novak Djokovic and Daria Kasatkina, answered questions for longer than 15 minutes.
Rothenberg continued, sharing how ‘one of the strategists’ reacted when he told them about the length of press conferences.
“So were the players planning to linger on the podium much longer than usual, just so they could make a grand exit at the 15-minute mark? No, I was assured by one of the strategists (who had seemed caught off-guard when I mentioned how short press conferences actually generally are).”
It remains to be seen what will happen on media day at the French Open, but it will be interesting to see who blinks first in the tense rivalry between the players and the Grand Slams!
