Sabalenka defends Wimbledon prize protest, says it’s for struggling players

The world number one is in a group of players seeking a greater prize return at Grand Slams.Wimbledon top seed ‌Aryna Sabalenka has defended a prize-money protest by leading players despite the grasscourt Grand ⁠Slam increasing its ⁠pot by a record 20 percent this year.The world number one is in a group represented by former WTA chief executive Larry Scott, who are demanding a bigger slice of ⁠the Grand Slam pie and improved player welfare.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Toxic Bielsa leaves ‘nothing good’ behind as Uruguay suffer World Cup shocklist 2 of 4Cape Verde break record as smallest nation to reach World Cup knockoutslist 3 of 4Joy, disappointment, protests: A view from Egypt-Iran World Cup tielist 4 of 4World Cup knockouts: Who has made it to the round of 32 stage?end of listWimbledon’s 64.2 million pounds ($84.7m) pot this year equates to about 15 percent of the tournament’s revenue, short of the 16 percent about 70 million pounds ($92.4m) that the players sought.As at the French Open, where ⁠Sabalenka and others restricted their pre-tournament media duties in protest, the Belarusian held a shortened news conference.“It’s a great start, they raise the prize money. It’s an amazing start. If you look over the last 10 years, if you compare the prize money to 2016, it’s kind of like the same [as a percentage] because ‌it went down,” she told reporters.“I really hope we can finally get to the table and really get it done, come to a conclusion that everyone’s going to be happy with. Hopefully, we’ll never have to do it again.”A first Wimbledon title would earn Sabalenka 3.6 million pounds ($4.7m), up from the 3 million pounds ($4m) paid to 2025 champions Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner.First-round losers will receive 80,000 pounds ($106,000), up from 66,000 pounds ($87.1m).Asked whether top players’ complaints, given many are multimillionaires, might not sit well with a public facing rising ticket ⁠and food prices, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion said, “We do it ⁠for the tour, we don’t do it for ourselves.”