London, June 29: Top tennis players at Wimbledon have decided to end their protest over prize money and will no longer be limiting their media appearances during the first week of the Grand Slam tournament.
A statement Monday from the advisory firm representing the players said the decision follows “constructive meetings” with the All England Club over the weekend.
Sally Bolton, the chief executive at the All England Club, said she was “really pleased” with the players’ decision.
“I think it’s great news that we and they can now just concentrate on the championships and on the tennis,” Bolton said. “We’ve had some really fruitful conversations over the weekend. They’ve been really positive.” Most of the top-10 ranked players had said they would limit their post-match media appearances to 15 minutes during the first week of the tournament, continuing a protest that started at the French Open. Players have argued that their share of the revenues from the Grand Slam tournaments is less than 15% and should be bigger.
They’ve also asked for larger contributions to a player welfare fund.
Wimbledon announced a 20% hike in total prize money this year and organizers expressed disappointment with the players’ decision to continue their protest.
But further talks over the weekend proved productive, even though the statement said “the underlying matters remain unresolved.” “Constructive dialogue with Wimbledon and the other Grand Slams will continue,” the statement said. “The players and the Club will make no further comment at this time.”
Serena calls anti-doping system ‘gruelling’
Serena Williams took aim at tennis’ anti-doping system ahead of her Wimbledon return, calling the system “unprofessional” and “unreasonable.”
The 44-year-old Williams returned to the testing pool before she could announce her comeback to professional tennis and was asked Sunday about her experiences complying with the rules.
“It’s gruelling. They changed the rules now. I didn’t know some of the rules. So apparently if you miss a test outside of your window, it still counts as missed. I’m like, I guess I can’t go pick up my kids,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion, a mother of two.
“It’s unprofessional. I hate it. I think it’s necessary, but I think a lot of the stuff, if I want to go places outside of my window, I should be able to go without having it count as a missed test.”
Williams’ first match at the grass-court Grand Slam since 2022 will take place Tuesday when she faces Maya Joint as part of her tennis comeback. She returned to the sport this month in a doubles match at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament.
The anti-doping protocol was in the spotlight last week when Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, was suspended for four years for refusing an anti-doping test, the latest high-profile player sanctioned.
Players are required by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to provide their daily “whereabouts” for no-notice testing.
Williams described it as “unreasonable.” “That was a big reason why I didn’t want to come back either,” she said, “because it’s just so hard. I mean, my life is busy, I run a company, I run a VC company, I travel the world. I have children. It’s like I could be in so many different cities so many different times.”
The ITIA, in response to Williams’ comments, said the rules have been the same for several years.
“If a tester is unable to reach a player during their allocated hour, then it may well be a strike,’ and three failures could lead to a charge. If a tester is unable to reach a player outside of their allocated hour, it is not considered a strike,” it said of the whereabouts rules.
“There have been no changes to the whereabouts rules in the last few years,” the ITIA added in its statement.
Williams, who has previously criticised the frequency of anti-doping testing, said she’s willing to comply and has “always have been very clear about what I do.” (AP)
