Wimbledon is finally upon us and while talk around the grass courts will no doubt revolve around Serena Williams' return, Jannik Sinner's title defence and, yes, the heat, the issue of prize money is set to dominate headlines.
A group of players, including Sinner and women's No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka have made it clear they want to see a greater percentage of the revenue generated by the major tournaments -- Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open -- given to the players' prize money fund.
However, on the opening day of Wimbledon, before a ball had been served, players announced they had called off the protest.
Here is what we know about the issue and what players are trying to do about it.
- Leading tennis players call off Wimbledon media protest after talks
- Wimbledon 2026: How to watch in the UK, schedule, prize money, Brit watch
- Will there be hydration breaks at Wimbledon? What happens if there is a heatwave?
What are the players unhappy about?
Top of the list is prize money. They argue the slams should pay a higher percentage of revenue and are set on reaching 22%, which they say is broadly the figure on the ATP and WTA Tours, by 2030.
They are also calling for contributions from the slams to welfare programmes including pensions and a meaningful voice at the table.
What has happened so far?
The group of players first sent a letter to the slams last spring and were not at all impressed with the response -- or lack of it.
Ahead of the French Open, they released a statement expressing their disappointment with a prize money increase of only 9.5%. They took their first direct action at Roland Garros, limiting their pre-match media commitments to only 15 minutes -- the approximate percentage of revenue paid by the French Open.
Players had indicated they would double down with another protest at Wimbledon this year. The All England Club has said it was "surprised and disappointed by this action."
However, players called off the protest just before the action began on Monday, June 29, following talks with All England Club bosses.
A statement from the player group read: "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."
What about Wimbledon prize money?
Rarely has there been such scrutiny on a prize money announcement as there was when Wimbledon held its spring press conference earlier this month.
The slams do not agree with the players' use of revenue as the sole marker for prize money but the 2026 total was announced as £64.2 million ($84m) -- a huge 20% increase from 2025, though still short of the 16% of revenue demanded by the players for this year.
What happens next?
The US Open will be the next tournament under scrutiny and, having upped its prize money by 20% last year, another big rise will be expected, particularly given the eye-watering ticket prices.
There has been talk of boycotting the tournament's big-money mixed doubles draw, which was brought forward to the week before the main event last year and attracted a star-studded field.
