The Wimbledon crisis has finally reached a boiling point – and it's not about who will win the title. For weeks, tennis stars had threatened to go on strike, refusing to talk to the media unless their demands were met. But in a dramatic U-turn, they've backed down, agreeing to play ball with the All England Club after intense behind-the-scenes talks over the weekend.
The standoff began back in March 2025, when top players made it clear they wouldn't take part in pre-tournament media events unless their grievances were addressed. And even though Wimbledon announced a record £64.2 million prize pot – up by a whopping 20% this year – the players felt it was short of their asking price of £71 million. The real sticking point, however, was the slice of tournament revenues they'd get to keep.
Currently, the ATP and WTA Tours dish out around 22% of total revenue in prize money. But Wimbledon's share is a paltry 14.4%, with players pushing for a hike to 16%. And it looks like they've got some grounds for their demands – a source close to the talks reveals that the AELTC has made concessions, mirroring the French Open's commitment to come up with concrete proposals on prize money and player representation later this summer.
Player reps have given the green light for media duties to resume from Monday 29 June, but it's clear there's still plenty of water to go under the bridge. "The underlying matters remain unresolved," they said in a statement, "and players will carefully evaluate the proposals once received." AELTC chief exec Sally Bolton, who's stepping down after this championship, welcomed the truce, saying, "I think it’s great news that we and they can now just concentrate on the championships and on the tennis."