Grand Slam champ put on the spot over boycotting French Open as row takes twist

Madison Keys has revealed she’s received several messages asking whether she will boycott the upcoming French Open, as players’ dissatisfaction with the four Grand Slam tournaments grows. Keys was among a group of players who co-signed a letter to leaders of the four Slams last March, asking for prize money to increase in line with tournament revenues, contributions to player welfare schemes, and greater say in “decisions that directly impact us.”

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff were also among the signatories. And this same player cohort has since expressed “deep” and “collective disappointment” with the French Open’s recent prize money announcement. The players say that, although the prize pot has increased, their share of tournament revenue has decreased.

In recent days, world No. 1 Sabalenka has suggested that players could boycott the Grand Slam tournaments if it were the “only way to fight for our rights”. Gauff also said a boycott could be on the cards if everyone were on the same page. And ATP No. 1 Sinner understands why his colleagues have suggested a strike, as he claimed that players “don’t feel respect” from the Majors.

But Keys, who has served on the WTA Player Council, hasn’t been as “tuned in” to these conversations in recent days and was surprised when she started receiving messages asking whether she could boycott the upcoming French Open.

The 2025 Australian Open champion said: “I was a little surprised. To be totally honest, I was so not tuned in. I kept getting text messages, ‘Are you going to boycott? In Paris?’ What are you talking about? What’s happening?

“It’s great to see the top players speaking out, taking initiative, being vocal about the issues that have always been issues but continue to be issues. I think it’s really important that players have a voice and they get a seat at the table to actually make some of those decisions. Other than that, I don’t have any further comments. But it is very great to see just how unified the players are.”

While Keys had no further thoughts on a potential boycott, the world No. 19 has been encouraged by the top players’ ability to unite over these issues and propose drastic action if needed.

“I think this is the most unified I’ve seen the players, where there’s genuinely a large group of people who have said, I think now is the time to actually do something. We kind of need to stand up for it. Things need to change,” she added. “I’m cautiously optimistic. I mean, obviously you hope that it never gets to the point of actually having to do anything radical. Just the fact that all the players seem to be very unified, have one voice, has been very nice.”

Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula, who serves on the WTA Player Council and WTA Tour Architecture Council, and has been “part of the initiative to try and have better communication with the Slams” on these matters, has commended Sabalenka and Sinner for speaking up.

“I think it was great that Jannik and Aryna were both very outspoken about it. I mean, I hope we don’t have to get to the point of a boycott. Obviously, that is, like, an extreme measure,” she said.

It might be “extreme”, but Pegula agrees that the players will have to take action eventually. And to her understanding, there has been no response from the French Open or Wimbledon to date.

She explained: “I think, at the end of the day, the point is that something kind of has to be done. I think to see them speak out was amazing, because we’ve definitely been pushing for it as far as myself and some other players to just kind of rally the top players around this because they’re the biggest voices that we have in the sport. I mean, I’m down to do whatever we need to do, as long as we’re all on the same page. I think it’s been awesome just to see the men and the women come together, the top players. We’ve never had that before.”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page