'It's a joke' - John McEnroe and Boris Becker lead strong response from legends to French Open player protests
By Leon Imber
Published 24/05/2026 at 11:35 GMT+1
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John McEnroe has sided with protesting players at the French Open, with the TNT Sports tennis expert saying their prize money allocation at Grand Slams is "a joke".
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A media protest took place among players on the eve of Roland-Garros, with those involved cutting their press time short to 15 minutes across news conference and video interview responsibilities, amid tension over the allocation of Grand Slam revenue represented in the prize money.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said the protest was "not about me", but rather "about the players who are lower in the ranking suffering", adding it is "not easy living in this tennis world".
Players pushing for an increase are looking for around 22% of Grand Slam revenue to be allocated as prize money. The current allocation is around 15%, and the prize money announcement was met with "collective disappointment" from the group of top-10 men's and women's players pushing for the increase.
Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion McEnroe argued the split of revenue towards prize money in tennis is far lower than in other sports.
"I’ve been talking about this since the 1970s," he told TNT Sports. "Back then, the top players were criticised for wanting a fairer share of revenue. Now the money in sports has exploded, but tennis players still get a tiny percentage compared to other sports.
"It’s a joke that players get around 14-15% of Slam revenue - split between men and women. It’s unfair. Players should be partners with the majors.
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"Honestly, the only way to force real change would be to boycott one or two Slams. Otherwise, they’ll just bump it 1-2% and call it progress. Both top players and lower‑ranked players deserve better."
The prize pot for this year's French Open sits at €61.723 million (£53.3m), an increase of 9.53% on last year's €56.352m (£48.7m).
The increase falls in line with other Grand Slams, boosting their prize money total, while qualifying rounds in Paris saw a rise of 12.9%, with doubles and wheelchair events also increased from last year.
Six-time major champion Boris Becker feels the players' requests are "reasonable".
"I think the players have a point," Becker said. "They were invited to have a discussion with the Grand Slams, and there was a lack of response.
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"It is their right to earn more money, because the cake is so big. In the NBA, there is a 50-50 share between owners and players, whereas in tennis it’s around 15%.
"The players are asking for around 20 to 22%, which I think is reasonable.
”The problem is organisation - there isn’t a common agenda among players. When we founded the ATP Tour, we stuck together, we had a leader, and we supported him.
"Today, in the top 10, I don’t think they all stick together, and that’s why such protests are not effective. But, overall, they have merit, tennis is one of the most successful global sports and players have a right to earn more."
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Jannik Sinner, Sabalenka, Coco Gauff among others spoke openly about their stance and addressed their discontent during their pre-tournament press conferences, and TNT Sports expert Chris Evert said it was "nice" to see the top players rally in support for those lower down the rankings.
"I think the conversation is just starting, but I agree with the players," Evert said. "I think they feel that the Grand Slam tournaments, and those countries, are making a lot of money and throwing it back into their development.
"I think the nice thing is that they’re looking at the middle and lower-ranked players besides themselves.
"They’re focusing more on, 'Are there going to be health plans? Is there going to be more prize money for the number 100 player, the number 150 player?' For them to afford to get a coach and afford to travel, because it’s so expensive."
'I'd volunteer for the job'
Sabalenka and Gauff said in the weeks leading up to the French Open that players could be led to boycott Grand Slams over the dispute.
And two-time French Open champion Jim Courier feels that "might be the only thing that works", suggesting tennis needs a commissioner to bridge the gap between tournaments and players.
”I’ve been in this situation before," Courier said. "I even wrote in my book decades ago that tennis needs a commissioner, and I’d volunteer for the job.
"The majors will only give small increases unless players take drastic action. The boycott of one or even two Slams might be necessary to force real partnership and revenue sharing. But the key is unity. If players don’t stick together - men and women - it won’t work. If some cross the line, the whole effort collapses.
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”I think when I was a player, that was when the ATP Tour was founded, right? The ATP broke away from the Grand Slam collective that existed back then, so that was a tumultuous time. And since then, things have got a lot friendlier around the game, which is good.
”There's certainly friction right now amongst the players, both male and female combined, and the majors - players wanting more prize money, a percentage of the prize money from them.
"And that's a battle that will continue to go on for the history of professional tennis and professional sports. Labour and management will always fight over the proceeds. So, I'm not sure where that one lands, but I know that fight will continue.”
TNT Sports expert Mats Wilander, meanwhile, said tennis will be pushed "to different levels" if Grand Slams find a way to give stronger financial backing to those lower-ranked players.
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”So, I think it's really important that the 100th player in the world is making enough money where they can make the same logical choices when it comes to their team as Jannik Sinner can," Wilander said.
"Because it's just going to push our sport to different levels, and the sport's going to become better and better. So, in that way, I think the prize money issue is very important. But if it's a matter of the best players making more money, I don't think it's important.”
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