Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked women’s player in the world, is calling for a boycott of the Grand Slams over ongoing issues with prize money.
Roland Garros recently announced a 10 per cent increase to its overall purse, bringing it up to £53.5m with an additional £4.6m set for next year.
But that hasn’t satisfied everyone, as both Sabalenka and men’s number one Jannik Sinner have raised concerns about the shrinking share of tournament revenue players are receiving.
A statement from players on Monday noted that their portion of revenue at Roland Garros has fallen from 15.5 per cent to a projected 14.9 per cent by 2026.
But Rusedski, speaking on Amazon Prime Video ahead of Gauff’s second-round match against Tamara Zidansek on Wednesday morning, cast doubt over whether the American was correct.
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Greg Rusedski shares thoughts on Grand Slam boycott
During an appearance on ‘Off Court with Greg’, Rusedski said: “I think when we’re talking about player strike, I don’t see it happening at a major for a little while. I think it’s a negotiation tool.
“I think Sinner also said, you know, we sent a letter in, we didn’t get a reply. But this has been going on for many, many years now.
“Prize money for getting in the four majors now is nearly $400,000. That’s a 10-to-1 ratio from my last year on tour.
“So, prize money has gone up. Yes, I understand wanting more of a split. But if you think about it logically, the only way this strike is going to work is if you get the top 100 men, top 100 women, they all come together on the deadline when they’re supposed to enter, and they all pull out.
“It can’t just be the top 10 or the top five or one player here, one player there. We had that in 1973, I believe, as well, when they had the boycott.
“And that was the year Roger Taylor got to the semifinals of Wimbledon as a Brit trying to win the championships. So we’ve had these situations before where we’ve had boycotts.
“But I don’t see it happening at the moment. Yes, they’d like to get more revenue. Yes, I understand their point of view. And I can really think, yeah, why not try to get as much as you can, because your career is so short.
“For the slams, part of the budget goes to the federations to develop players in their country. On top of that, if you look at the facilities at these major tournaments and at these master series, it’s out of this world.
“They’re always investing back in the structure, the fan experience as well. So I see both coins in the toss. I don’t see it happening, especially this year.”
Rusedski says more attention should be paid to lower-ranked players
Rusedski added: “I think for lower down players, I mean, in qualifying, I think getting qualifying is 15,000 pounds in Wimbledon just to lose in the opening round. Even at the Master series, now you get prize money and points for winning a round in qualifying.
“We got no points, no prize money unless we’re in the main draw of the tournament. So there have been improvements. It’s more the players in the challengers and in the futures, because the futures, their job is to kind of get rid of the players that can’t make it up to the challenger level.
“So you’d like to see them earn a little bit more money on the lowest level, which are the futures. But then the challenger players who rank probably between 100 and say, I bet about 350, 400 in the world.
“You’d like to see them have a little bit more money for their coaches, for their team of staff around them to give them those opportunities. But they don’t sell tickets. That’s the problem.
“So when you’re a fan and you go to Wimbledon, even if you know nothing about tennis, you go there because that’s the thing to do in the UK. That’s the premier slam of all the slams.
“And everybody wants to be there. It doesn’t matter who’s really playing at the time. But let’s be honest. If you talked to the regular person in the street who doesn’t watch tennis, name me a male tennis player.
“The first they’re going to say is Carlos Alcaraz, even though Sinner’s number one. And in the women’s game, that’s the challenge. Maybe they might say Coco Gauff. They’ll say Sabalenka or the girl that does the TikTok dances if they’re non-tennis fans.
“And still there’ll be the talk about Serena Williams from your people who don’t follow tennis week in, week out like myself and yourself.
“And that’s where we either have to make these names bigger. We have to get more things going on as well to promote these players and continue the rivalry.
“Because the tennis level in the men’s and the women’s is exceptional. No question about it. But you have so many other arenas. You’re competing in basketball, baseball, American football, soccer.
“So it’s all these different things they have to balance out. So I would be very surprised if we see a boycott this year. I don’t see it happening.”
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