A mobile phone rang during a French Open press conference on Novak Djokovic’s 39th birthday. Djokovic appeared distracted but smiled and offered to answer the call for the reporter. Djokovic confirmed he will not join fellow players in an ongoing protest about prize money at Grand Slam tournaments. World number one Aryna Sabalenka cut short her press conference as leading players protested. Twenty players, including Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, want a higher share of Grand Slam revenue awarded as prize money. They also want progress on welfare investment, including pension contributions, and greater representation in decision-making. Players limited media activity to 15 minutes and refused extra interviews and social media content. The time limit matched the current prize-money percentage, which is below their 22 percent demand.
"Djokovic was distracted as the phone continued to ring on what was his 39th birthday and he offered to answer the call for the reporter, as he smiled during the incident."
"Meanwhile, Djokovic has confirmed he will not join his fellow players in the ongoing protest against prize money at Grand Slam tennis tournaments."
"A group of 20 players, including world number ones Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, have been pushing for a higher percentage of revenue at the grand slams to be awarded in prize money. They are also unhappy at a lack of progress in their calls for investment in welfare programmes, including pension contributions, and representation at decision-making level."
"A number of players limited their activity to 15 minutes, comprising a 10-minute press conference and five-minute interview with the host broadcaster, refusing to do additional TV or radio interviews or provide social media content for the tournament. The 15-minute time limit was chosen because that is the approximate percentage of revenue currently given in prize money by the French Open - well short of the players' demand for 22 per cent."
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]