LONDON (AP) 鈥� Tennis star Jessica Pegula said a protest by top players over prize money at the French Open was 鈥減roductive and worked well.”
Seemed to be, because Wimbledon then .
But several players are 鈥� by limiting media appearances 鈥� this weekend and in the first week of the grass-court Grand Slam, which starts Monday, arguing that they deserve a bigger share of revenues.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very grateful that Wimbledon has raised the prize money, but again it鈥檚 not really answering the questions that we鈥檝e been asking,鈥� Pegula said Saturday, when she limited her time with the press. 鈥淚 don’t know if the point is just not getting across.鈥�
And the No. 4 player is already looking ahead to the last major on the calendar 鈥� the U.S. Open.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see how it progresses … after doing this today and over the next week and then going into obviously the next Slam which is the U.S. Open,鈥� the 32-year-old American said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l kind of get a good grasp about where we鈥檙e really standing with the Slams and see what we can get out of that with talking to them.鈥�
Wimbledon’s total prize money including player per diems will be 64.2 million pounds ($85 million), the biggest annual increase, by sum of money, in the tournament鈥檚 history. The increase in 2013 represented over the prior year.
The singles champions at the All England Club will each get 3.6 million pounds ($4.75 million) 鈥� which also represents a 20% hike.
The where players complained the total prize money only made up 14.3% of the clay-court tournament鈥檚 revenue.
On Wednesday, a statement by an advisory firm representing the players said the 鈥渄irect action protest鈥� would continue during Wimbledon’s first week. The statement said the players鈥� share of Wimbledon鈥檚 projected revenue this year was 14.4%, which would be below the 14.9% share they received 10 years ago.
The All England Club has said it was 鈥渟urprised and disappointed by this action.鈥�
Not all players support protest
Novak Djokovic has not been a part of it.
鈥淚 have no views on that, to be honest. I鈥檓 not part of it. Just I鈥檒l stay neutral on that,鈥� the seven-time Wimbledon champion said Saturday
No. 6 Alex de Minaur took part in the Roland Garros protest but not this time, with the Australian saying in quotes reported by the BBC: 鈥淚 thought that Wimbledon made a big step in the right direction, and something that should be noted. So this is for me to acknowledge their big step.鈥�
Cam Norrie, who at No. 29 is the highest-ranked British men’s singles player, noted improved facilities for players and said the prize money increase is 鈥渁bsolutely huge.鈥�
Meanwhile, No. 5 Ben Shelton said 鈥淚 back the players in this whole process鈥� and rattled off a list of concerns. But he added that he wasn’t limiting his time on media day 鈥渂ecause Wimbledon is a special place.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檝e always treated me well here,鈥� Shelton said. 鈥淚 think they have made an effort. I think that showed in the increase that they brought in prize money this year.鈥�
What do the No. 1 singles players say?
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka described the 20% increase as a 鈥済reat start.鈥�
鈥淚 really hope we can finally get to the table and really get it done, come to a conclusion that everyone going to be happy with. Hopefully we鈥檒l never have to do it again,鈥� she said. 鈥淥nce again, I hope we’re not going to get to this boycotting again.鈥�
Jannik Sinner limited a media appearance and deflected questions about the protest.
鈥淚t’s getting better even though we are not at the point where we are 100% happy,鈥� the Italian said.
Sinner said it’s 鈥渘ot only about the money,鈥� citing the need for improvements in player welfare. But he declined to engage in a question about Wimbledon’s offer to work on creating a player council.
鈥淚 just think it’s better if we don’t discuss here, I don’t like to talk about this at the moment,鈥� he said.
The four-time Grand Slam champion also didn’t want to address whether the players feel they are closer to a solution or a boycott.
鈥淚 think we talked enough about this at the moment. The Grand Slams know what we ask, then we see how it goes,鈥� he said. 鈥淎gain, I’m here now to talk about tennis.鈥�
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