Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one and top seed at Wimbledon, has defended a prize-money protest by leading players despite the grasscourt Grand Slam increasing its pot by a record 20% this year.
Player Welfare
Sabalenka 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. Wimbledon’s £64.2 million pot this year equates to about 15% of the tournament’s revenue, short of the 16% — about £70 million — the players sought.
Sabalenka held a shortened press conference, similar to the French Open, where she and others restricted their pre-tournament media duties in protest. She expressed hope that the issue can be resolved, stating, “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.”
Sabalenka emphasized that the protest is not about the top players but about the welfare of lower-ranked players who struggle to make a living. She said, “We do it for the tour, we don’t do it for ourselves. We do it for the rest of the players who are suffering to even hire a coach. It’s not an easy life for lower-ranked players.”
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
