French Open rejects prize money change despite tennis stars’ boycott threat

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and No 4 Coco Gauff have led player complaints about reduced pay at French Open.The French Open prize money will not change this year despite players complaining they deserve a bigger share, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo says.Top players have criticised the organisers for reducing the players’ share of revenue to an alleged 14.3 percent, compared with 22 percent at standard ATP and WTA events.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Afghan women’s refugee team returns to world cricket post Taliban exclusionlist 2 of 4Arteta ‘built a fire’ instead of watching Arsenal’s Premier League crowninglist 3 of 4‘You never know’: Spain fans cautiously embrace World Cup favourites taglist 4 of 4Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly star picks in Senegal’s World Cup squadend of listTo show their discontent, many competing at Roland Garros, where play begins on Sunday, are planning to limit their interaction with reporters to 15 minutes during Friday’s traditional pretournament media day.Mauresmo, a former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, said she remained open to dialogue and was confident of a solution. A meeting is expected on Friday between tournament organisers and the players and their representatives.But asked whether there was a chance the prize money would change this year, Mauresmo said on Thursday: “No, we are not going to change anything. We are going to initiate discussions, and that is what everyone wants.”Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and fourth-ranked Coco Gauff were among leading players this month who supported a boycott of the Grand Slams if they don’t start receiving more compensation.Roland Garros organisers increased the prize money by about 10 percent after the United States Open last year raised its pot by 20 percent and this year’s Australian Open by 16 percent.The entire French Open pot was 61.7 million euros ($72m), up 5.3 million euros ($6.1m) from last year, but the players claimed their share of Roland Garros revenue declined from 15.5 percent in 2024 to 14.9 percent projected in 2026.