Ahead of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, tennis is once again being rocked by a row over prize money. The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this week that tennis stars plan to carry out protests before the tournament starts this weekend.
At Friday's traditional press conferences, players like world number one Jannik Sinner will step out after 15 minutes, regardless of whether all questions have been answered.
The time has been chosen with care, as it refers to the fact that on average 15 percent of the total revenue from the Grand Slam tournaments goes to the players, which is considered far too little.
Long-running conflict
The background is a conflict that has been going on for a year between the top tier of both men's and women's tennis and the four Grand Slam tournaments, the French Championships, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. From the players' perspective, they do not receive a sufficient share of the increasing revenues from these four tournaments, which are the largest and most important during the tennis season.
The total prize pool in Paris has increased by 9.5 percent this year, with the winner receiving a whopping €2.8 million. However, players point out that the tournament's total revenue last year increased by 14 percent to a total of €395 million.
Clear favorite
Parallels are also drawn to ATP and WTA competitions where 22 percent of the revenue is paid to the players.
One of the players supporting the protest is Norwegian Casper Ruud, currently ranked 17th in the world. In a statement to Norwegian news agency NTB, Ruud said that "it's not just about making more money but creating a better platform for our sport." He was referring to demands from players for a greater say in tournaments and better pension arrangements.
The French Championships begin on Sunday, and the draw, with the usual player interviews, will take place on Friday. On the men's side, world number one Jannik Sinner is the clear favorite in the absence of the injured Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
On the women's side, Iga Swiatek of Poland is expected to compete for victory with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
