Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka make crucial boycott decision ahead of first Wimbledon match

After ‘constructive meetings’ between Wimbledon officials and the players group, players will not longer perform a media boycott at the Grand Slam.

The player group, led by the likes of Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, had confirmed that they were set to walk out on press conferences at the 15-minute mark, just like they did at Roland Garros earlier this year.

The top players on the ATP and WTA Tours are unhappy about the revenue split of prize money at Grand Slams, and are looking for an increase of 22%.

Wimbledon offered 20% ahead of the 2026 Grand Slam, which players were not happy with. However, after talks between the two parties, the players have decided not to boycott as the first day gets underway.

The player group released a statement confirming the news.

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They wrote: “Following constructive meetings between player representatives and AELTC leadership over the weekend, players have confirmed they will resume normal tournament media duties from Monday, June 29.

“This decision is based on Wimbledon’s commitment to return with specific proposals addressing all three points of the players’ July 2025 submission.

“The underlying matters remain unresolved and players will carefully evaluate the proposals once received. Players will also be providing Wimbledon with further information they have requested in connection with those proposals during the course of the tournament.

“Constructive dialogue with Wimbledon and the other Grand Slams will continue. The players and the club will make no further comment at this time.”

This is a decision that will please former Wimbledon stars and current board members Anne Keothavong and Tim Henman, who told the BBC they were ‘disappointed’ by the boycott before it was scrapped.

“This conversation does centre around percentage of revenue into prize money. There are two tournaments in the world whose accounts are in the public domain. That is Wimbledon and the US Open. So when we hear and we’re given this 22% of revenue from the Tour, we would love be able to look at that and understand how their business model works,” said Henman during BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon.

“Where we sit at Wimbledon and Anne [Keothavong] are both on the board, when you look at our business model and look what is invested into the facilities for the players, that’s a roof on Centre Court, a roof on Court One, and what we’ve done to the Milennium Building.

“There has been a significant investment back into that platform that was provide for the players. You add to that that Wimbledon as a championships gives 90% of its profit away to the LTA for the benefit of British tennis.

“I don’t think these two business models are necessarily the same. We had a very constructive meeting yesterday. We talked about, as Wimbledon have for a year, that we would like to have that Player Council so we can have the input from the players.

“We understand about the welfare, but this conversation around prize money, we felt that a 20% prize money increase, just over £10 million, was a significant step, so then for the media boycott to stay at 15 minutes I think was disappointing from where we sit.”

Keothavong, meanwhile, said: “The tournament is definitely on the same side as the players. We think it’s absolutely right that the players should share in the success of the tournament, but we need everyone in a room. We need constructive discussions.

“We need the players to come together and form a council, so we can have that direct communication, but when the players talk about helping the lower-ranked players, I think Wimbledon has done exactly that.

“It’s £80,000 for the first round loser her. 10 years ago, it was £30,000. Prize money in qualifying has gone up 25% so, look, we have listened. We hear the players, we are trying to help the best we can. There just needs to be some constructive discussions.”

The main draw of Wimbledon begins on Monday 29th June and runs until the men’s final on Sunday, July 12th.