COCO GAUFF is among several top tennis stars threatening to BOYCOTT the French Open over a prize pot dispute.
Several of tennis’ big names have been called for Roland Garros chiefs to increase the $72million tournament pot.
This year’s overall prize pot is 9.5 per cent bigger than last year’s, although several heavy hitters still aren’t happy.
Current French Open champion Gauff and women’s World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka blasted tournament organisers this week, claiming they’d be paying players less than 15% of the revenue.
And Gauff has agreed with calls to boycott the French Grand Slam for the greater good, saying: “It’s not about me.
“It’s about the future of our sport and also the current players who aren’t getting as much benefits, maybe, as even some of the top players are getting when it comes to sponsorship and things like that.
“We’re making money off court.
“When you look at the [players ranked] 50 to 100, 50 to 200, how much money each Slam makes, it’s kind of unfortunate where the 200 best tennis players are living paycheck to paycheck.”
Sabalenka said: “I think at some point we will boycott [the tournament], yeah.
“I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.
“Let’s see how far we can get, if it’s going to take players for boycott.
“Some of the things, I feel like it’s really unfair to the players.”
Men’s World No.1 Jannik Sinner is also on board with a potential boycott due to the pay situation, saying: “It’s more about respect, you know?
“Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back. It’s not only for the top players, it’s for all of us players.
“Of course, we talk about money. The most important is respect, and we just don’t feel it.”
The 2026 instalment of the French Open gets underway in Paris a week on Monday.
Read the full article here