Sinner Headlines French Open Clouded By Player Unrest, Prize Money Dispute

The main draw of the 2026 French Open kicks off on May 24, with qualifiers beginning this week. 

On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner will chase the prospects of a career Grand Slam while his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, is absent. Meanwhile, Coco Gauff looks to defend her title on the women’s side, while several other top WTA players are also in the mix. But in the mix, there is also a dispute between players and Grand Slams over prize money.

Possible Grand Slam Boycott, PTPA Lawsuit

While most of the top players are expected to compete at this year’s French Open, that doesn’t come without tension. Just three weeks after several ATP and WTA players sent a letter expressing “deep disappointment” in the tournament’s prize money, players who attend Friday’s opening press conference will walk out after 15 minutes in part of a “work-to-rule” strategy.

This 15 represents the 15% share of the tournament’s projected revenue that players say they’ll earn—far less than the 22% players want by 2030. The players’ media strategy also includes limiting other off-court activities. Additionally, players like Sinner, WTA’s No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 4 Gauff said they would support a possible Grand Slam boycott if they continue to feel they aren’t getting what they deserve.

Former ATP player and ex-WTA chief executive Larry Scott is advising the players and will meet with French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open representatives throughout the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Professional Tennis Players Association, a quasi-players union founded by Novak Djokovic, is still amidst an antitrust lawsuit against the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open (the PTPA settled the suit with the Australian Open last December). The PTPA recently asked the New York Southern District Court to compel the French Open and Wimbledon to issue them credentials, which were denied by the tournament. Both tournaments claim that the courts don’t have jurisdiction to make this demand.

Spotlight on Sinner

All eyes will be on the ATP’s world No. 1, who is riding a 29-match win streak and just became the youngest man to win all nine ATP 1000 Masters events, surpassing Novak Djokovic’s old record. After fumbling three match points in the longest French Open final ever against Alcaraz last year, the Italian enters this year’s tournament as the favorite to win—and have all four Grand Slam titles to his name. 

Alcaraz’s absence as the two-time defending champion is also a major storyline. Not only is he the only player to consistently challenge Sinner, but he is also arguably the biggest draw in men’s tennis—he’s the world’s highest-paid tennis player, racking up $35 million in endorsements in 2025 (compared to Sinner’s $27 million). With last year’s Sinner-Alcaraz final on TNT being the most-viewed on the men’s side since 2021, it’s possible that an Alcaraz-less final could take a ratings hit. 

That’s not to count out world No. 4 Novak Djokovic, though, as he became just the second man to beat Sinner in a Grand Slam since July 2024 by taking him out in this year’s Australian Open semifinals.

Scheduling Disparity

Last year, French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo received backlash for scheduling men’s matches exclusively during the tournament’s primetime Center Court slot (8:15 p.m. local time) on Center Court. Former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur called the scheduling “sad,” while Gauff and world No. 5 Jessica Pegula also agreed. Still, Mauresmo doubled down, saying that they were made because men play best-of-five matches compared to women’s best-of-three matches. 

Since 2021, only four of 44 night matches have featured women. But after last year’s public outcry regarding this issue, this discrepancy is worth monitoring heading into this year’s tournament.

Whoop, There It Is

For the first time, wearables will be allowed at a Grand Slam tournament on a “trial basis”, after players like Sinner, Sabalenka, and Alcaraz were asked to remove fitness metric-tracking Whoop bands at the Australian Open. This trial, which FOS confirmed, extends to Wimbledon and the US Open—a Whoop representative celebrated the move, telling FOS that “data is not steroids.”

However, looming is the US Open’s five-year partnership with wearable brand Oura. Oura told FOS in April that it “sits in a different category” as a ring (rather than a wristband, like Whoop bands), and it won’t “raise concerns about real-time in-match data or coaching signals.”

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