"When we wait over a year just to receive a small response — it’s not nice" - Jannik Sinner slams organisers as prize money dispute tumbles on at Roland Garros

Jannik Sinner has barely had a moment to breathe in recent weeks. After winning the first five Masters 1000 tournaments of 2026, he is looking to keep his fine unbeaten streak up at the French Open, eyeing up a maiden title triumph at Roland Garros and cementing his name even further into the record books.

After his recent success on home soil at the Rome Open, he spent some much-needed time with his family to rest and recover. “Yes, I went to my parents’ place for a couple of days, stayed there, and arrived yesterday during the day," he told the press. "I tried to recover a bit. I’m still trying to recover and hopefully be ready for the first-round match.”

While the Italian has played a lot of matches in recent times, he is still feeling good. “Yes, I hope so. It has been a very long but very positive period. I’m lucky to be in this position. I think it’s always better to be in a position where you win and start to feel tired, rather than losing a couple of rounds.

"I’m trying to find a good balance on the practice courts — understanding when to push and when not to — and hopefully I’ll be ready for the first-round matches. I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a very special tournament for me, especially because it’s the first time I’ve played here. I think the excitement helps you find a bit more energy during the tournament.”

If the prior tournament was not in Italy, there would have been a very good chance that the world number one many not have turned up at all to keep his body fit and fresh ahead of Roland Garros. “Tough to say. Being in Italy was definitely extra motivation, and it was also the only Masters event I was missing, so that gave me additional motivation too," he added.

"At the same time, with these longer events, if you skip one tournament, it’s not just one week — you’re basically out for two weeks, and that’s a very long time. If you don’t play Rome before Roland Garros, then you could have three weeks off depending on when you lost in Madrid — potentially even four. You also need to come here with a good number of matches and match rhythm. It’s difficult to answer, but I would say I still would have played.”

Similar to many other players, Sinner is limiting his media appearances to just 15 minutes. This is in protest of the tournament not raising prize money to 22% of revenue, what the players asked for with is stuck at 15%.

He is one of a number of players complying by this. “Yes, I think many players are doing that. But it’s nothing against journalists or anyone here. We are very happy to do it and happy to fulfil our obligations," he noted.

"We are just trying to put ourselves in a position where we also have a small say, and I think it’s right to do so. As I said in Rome already, we waited one year to receive even a small response, and I think now we are trying to start something. But again, it’s nothing against you. We are here to do our obligations.”

It is now their turn to get a response from the organisers, hoping that they can de-escalate the situation. “We need to see. It takes all the players together, and the players are very connected right now. I think that’s something positive because, without us, the events are not possible.

"As I said in Rome, it’s about respect. When we wait over a year just to receive a small response — especially when the top 10 players are involved — it’s not nice."

It is more than just prize money on the surface. "At the same time, people only talk about prize money, but we are also talking about pensions, which is a very important topic because hopefully, after tennis, we receive some pension support. We’re also talking about decision-making — for example, who decides if tournaments start on Sunday, Saturday or Friday? Three of the four Grand Slams now start on Sunday, but we would like to have at least some conversation about these things too. Let’s see where things go and how the other Grand Slams react after here. Then we’ll decide.”

Sinner is practically unbeatable at the moment. Since the start of Indian Wells, he has won 29 matches on the spin and dropped just three sets. It is incredible and almost unprecedented numbers in which the rest of the tour are struggling to keep up.

This has resulted them to changing their approach, something Sinner slightly feels. “Yes, everyone is trying to beat me, but that’s completely normal. You need to be ready. Best-of-five matches are a bit different because they give you more time to understand how to beat a player, and even if you start badly, you can still find a way back into the match. Let’s see. I’m very sure I’ll have very tough matches in front of me, so I try to focus on myself.”

For Sinner on the court, it is all about how he is feeling in that moment dependant on what shot he goes for. “I’m a player who relies a lot on gut feeling and what I feel in the moment. If I feel a shot, I just go for it. I don’t second-guess," he explained. "I think it’s a very important shot, and it’s becoming more and more important to change direction first and go down the line. It also depends on who you play, because then you have the whole court open on the other side. But yes, if I feel something, I go for it.”

If anyone is going to stop him, it will likely have to be on Court Philippe-Chatrier - the main court at Roland Garros and one Sinner is a big fan of. “It was a special feeling. As I said, this is a very special tournament for me, and it has become increasingly better year after year. Last year we were very close, but the feelings and the connection with the crowd were very nice.

"There were a lot of kids, which I really like to see. The walk out onto the court, the stairs up to the stadium — it was all very nice. Of course, I still think back to what happened, but I still have very positive feelings.”

The number one seed will commence the quest for a maiden Roland Garros title against wildcard Clement Tabur.