ROLAND GARROS – The days leading up to any grand slam are often tense, fraught affairs. Players are at their most wound up, preparing for one of the biggest fortnights of the year, with millions of pounds on the line if it goes well and more people watching than at any other point of the season.
But Friday at the French Open was particularly so, with the 20 richest players in tennis insisting on a “work-to-rule” type protest in their media interviews to try and demand more prize money.
How much more do the players want?
In an attempt to force the hand of the French Open organisers – the French Tennis Federation (FFT) – the world’s top players refused to do more than 15 minutes of pre-tournament media, a nod to the mere 15 per cent of Roland Garros’s revenue that is put back into the prize money pot.
In real terms, this year’s prize money is £53m, a vast sum but shared between hundreds of players, depending on performance. A first-round loser, of which there are 128 in singles, will earn £75,000 gross – while the men’s and women’s singles champion will each take £2.4m.
