Jannik Sinner reveals stance on Grand Slam boycott over pay row before French Open

Jannik Sinner has offered his honest stance on players boycotting a Grand Slam event over the ongoing pay row.

Sinner, who has enjoyed a successful start to 2026, winning all four Masters 1000 events this season, is currently preparing for his Italian Open round-of-64 match against Austrian Sebastian Ofner before the second major of the season, the French Open, gets underway later this month.

While Sinner has been in fine form on the court and appears to be at the top of his game, issues over pay remain off it.

Earlier this week, Sinner, alongside 19 other professional tennis players, released a joint statement raising concerns about player pay, with the group claiming their share of revenue has decreased despite French Open prize money increasing ahead of this year’s tournament.

The group made it clear that they are unhappy with the prize money on offer — despite organisers announcing a 9.5 per cent increase to a total of £52.6 million, meaning each men’s and women’s singles champion will receive £2.4 million.

Players argue that the prize fund is effectively shrinking as a share of overall tournament revenue across the four majors — the US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

The women’s singles world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, has also been vocal on the topic, with the four-time major winner admitting: “I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.”

Meanwhile, four-time French Open winner Iga Swiatek offered a less extreme stance, saying: “The most important thing is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate.

“Hopefully, before Roland Garros, there’s going to be an opportunity to have these types of meetings, and we’ll see how they go.

“But boycotting the tournament is a bit of an extreme situation.”

Sinner speaks out on boycotting Grand Slams

Now, Sinner has spoken about the pay debate, with the Italian refusing to rule out a potential Grand Slam boycott, citing “respect” as a key issue alongside pay.

Speaking in Rome, he said: “I think we give much more than what we are getting back. It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players. Again, from the men’s and women’s side, we are very, very equal. I think the top 10 men and top 10 women wrote a letter. It’s not nice that after one year, we are not even close to a conclusion that we would like to reach.

“Talking about other sports, if the top athletes send important letters, I truly believe that within 48 hours, you have not only a response but also a meeting about this kind of thing. Of course, we talk about money, but the most important thing is respect, and we just don’t feel it.”

When pressed on whether he would be willing to boycott a big tournament such as a Grand Slam, he added: “I cannot predict the future.

“But at the same time, I also believe that somewhere we need to start. I understand other players not playing. But, yeah, let’s see. I can see from all the press conferences that I’m definitely not the only one. It’s the first time that I feel like the players are all in the same position and share the same point of view.”

The French Open begins on May 18 and will run until June 7.