Latest news with #JannikSinner
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Grand slam organisers ready to make concessions for players amid dispute
Wimbledon and the three other grand slam tournaments are willing to make concessions to the players in an attempt to resolve a dispute over prize money, pensions and player representation. The Guardian has learned that during discussions with representatives of several top-10 world-ranked men and women players at Wimbledon last week, the All England Club offered to hold talks over creating a player council to give athletes a voice in decisions over scheduling, as well as indicating a willingness to contribute to their pension and healthcare provision for the first time. Similar offers are understood to have been made by the other major championships, the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, with the discussions set to resume at the final grand slam of the year in New York next month. The details have yet to be agreed with the players planning to submit a formal proposal later this year. Player representatives held two meetings with Wimbledon and French Open officials, and executives from the Australian Open and US Open, at SW19 with sources involved on all sides describing the discussions as positive. The talks had begun in May at Roland Garros, where leading players, including Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff, met with the grand slam heads and made a series of demands, including a greater proportion of their revenue to be shared in prize money; contributions from the four majors to player healthcare, pensions and maternity pay; and a formal say in decisions regarding tournament scheduling. The offer to begin talks over creating a player council for the grand slams is seen as a significant concession by the players, who have always insisted that the dispute is not primarily about prize money. All the grand slams have introduced significant changes to their playing conditions in recent years without consulting the players, including Sunday starts at the Australian and US Opens, playing on the first Sunday at Wimbledon and more evening sessions everywhere, which has led to 3am finishes in Melbourne and Paris in particular. Many of the players feel such changes have had a detrimental effect on their preparation for tournaments and want a formal say on such decisions in the future, particularly as there is a feeling some of the grand slams want to introduce Saturday starts to give them three full weekends of action to sell to broadcasters. While the issue of prize money was not discussed in detail at Wimbledon there is an acceptance by the players that it has continued to increase significantly each year, with the All England Club paying out £53.5m this year, a rise of 7% on 12 months ago. Wimbledon declined to comment on the details of private conversation, but confirmed discussions had taken place during the championships. 'We always welcome the opportunity to engage with the players and are regularly in touch with them year-round,' a spokesperson said. 'We were happy to continue those conversations at Wimbledon. Listening to the players' feedback and maintaining a constructive relationship with them is very important to us and these discussions will continue.' The grand slams are also facing potential legal action from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), the international players' union set up by Novak Djokovic, who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and International Tennis Federation in March, accusing the sport's governing bodies of suppressing competition, manipulating prize money and imposing a restrictive ranking system on the players. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The PTPA filed an amended complaint against the tours in New York last week, which included an addendum that they would hold off naming the grand slams as co-defendants. Ahmad Nassar, the PTPA chief executive, said that they have since held productive discussions with the grand slams and expressed confidence they can reach an agreement. 'We filed a 180-page amended complaint, but we also filed a one-page letter about our talks with the grand slams, saying that we want 90 days to continue those discussions,' Nassar said. 'Ninety days is the timeline in the letter we filed with the court that said that we're holding off on naming the grand slams as defendants in our court case. We've been having productive discussions with them about resolving the issues that we outlined in the 180-page complaint. 'The one page to me means far more than 180 pages. That's the window to really roll up our sleeves and address the issues over the schedule, player representation, and compensation.'
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Wimbledon breaks record despite demand for BBC commentator to be removed
Jannik Sinner's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the men's singles final was watched by 8.8 million, the BBC has revealed, in what has been a bumper tournament for the television institution Jannik Sinner's thrilling victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the men's singles final at Wimbledon was watched by a whopping 8.8 million viewers, the BBC has revealed. A staggering 8.3 million of these fans tuned in via BBC One, marking a significant increase from last year's figure of 7.5 million. Sinner's first Wimbledon title win, secured after an intense four-set duel, was just one of several highlights during the BBC's fortnight-long coverage. In the women's singles final, Iga Swiątek clinched her maiden Wimbledon title with a commanding straight sets victory over Amanda Anisimova. They drew a peak audience of 4.1 million on BBC One and was streamed over a million times on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. However, it was British sensation Emma Raducanu who truly captured the nation's attention. Her Centre Court showdown with Aryna Sabalenka pulled in a peak TV audience of 5 million, making it the third most-watched non-final match in four years. It was only surpassed by Raducanu's own fourth-round nail-biter against Lulu Sun in 2024 and Andy Murray's clash with John Isner in 2022. The Beeb also revealed that this year's Wimbledon championships set a new record for overall viewership, with an unprecedented 69.3 million people tuning in across BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, and BBC Sport app throughout the tournament. Wimbledon's digital engagement has smashed previous records too, with the BBC announcing a staggering number of online requests this year. The figures soared past the 50.1 million online requests made in 2024 and eclipsed the prior record of 54.3 million set in 2023. Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport says: "This year's record-breaking digital figures for Wimbledon are testament to the huge appeal of the sport amongst audiences and the power of digital innovation to bring both new and existing fans closer to the action than ever before. The way people are following Wimbledon is changing but that is exciting for us as we look to tell the best stories in different ways". The successful figures come despite the BBC facing calls on social media to drop a member of its commentary team. Andrew Castle, a stalwart of the broadcaster's Wimbledon coverage in recent years, was chosen for the men's singles final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, a choice that seemed to go down badly with fans. "Why oh why do the BBC put Andrew Castle on lead commentary for the Men's Singles final every year, he's terrible. My ears have already start to bleed," said one viewer. Another lamented the decision, saying: "Massive build up to this #WimbledonFinal and then BBC put Andrew Castle on commentary. Way to kill the match for me before it even starts," as reported by the Mirror. "Wow Andrew Castle is so bad he is already trending internationally," another fan pointed out. A fourth disgruntled viewer expressed, "Heart sinks when I hear the words 'and your commentator is Andrew Castle'. Ruins enjoyment of every match. @BBCSport needs to cut the chord,". Castle's presence at Wimbledon has been a big talking point this year, particularly after Trinity Rodman took umbrage with his mentions of her as she watched boyfriend Ben Shelton, and following appearance from Andre Agassi on the BBC's commentary team for the semi-final clash between Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz. Agassi's arrival prompted a flood of positive reactions from viewers, many of whom seemed to prefer his insight to Castle's. Whether there are any plans to shake things up for next year's coverage remains to be seen, however.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jannik Sinner reveals how he overcame French Open loss to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
The post Jannik Sinner reveals how he overcame French Open loss to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon appeared first on ClutchPoints. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time after their epic French Open final to give tennis fans another Grand Slam final between them. The Wimbledon final on Sunday didn't quite have the same drama that the Roland Garros final did as Sinner closed it out in four sets to win his first title at the All England Club. Overcoming that loss in the Roland Garros final, where Sinner had three championship points before serving for the title and getting broken and losing in a final set tiebreak, would have been a very tall task for many. However, Sinner went right back to work and has now been rewarded with a Wimbledon title just a few weeks later. After winning the title in London on Sunday, Sinner talked about how he got over that crushing loss so quickly to bring home his fourth major. 'I hd a very tough loss in Paris, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter how you win or lose,' Sinner said. 'Especially in important tournaments, you just have to understand what you did wrong and you have to work on that. That's what we did. We tried to accept the loss adjust kept working and this is for sure one of the reasons why I hold this trophy here. 'I'm just so grateful that I'm healthy and have great people around me which is the most important part and having this trophy with me means a lot.' On Sunday, Jannik Sinner found himself in an almost identical position to the one he was in at Roland Garros. The Italian served for the fourth set and the championship, and after dropping serve at 15 in Paris, he played a flawless game sealed with a service winner to slam the door in this one. The World No. 1 has become known for his mental strength and unflappability throughout his very young career, but rebounding from that loss in Paris to win the very next major over the same player takes that to an even higher level. Related: Carlos Alcaraz sends classy message to Jannik Sinner after final Related: Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title puts him in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal company
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title puts him in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal company
The post Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title puts him in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal company appeared first on ClutchPoints. In the latest chapter of the best rivalry of the next generation of men's tennis, Jannik Sinner got his revenge on Carlos Alcaraz. Just five weeks after Alcaraz beat Sinner in the final of the French Open, Sinner won the Wimbledon title with a four-set victory over the Spaniard on Sunday on Centre Court. Sinner now has four major titles overall and two this season. He currently holds three of the last four major titles after winning the U.S. Open last fall and the Australian Open in January. The 23-year old is the fifth player ever to hold three of the four titles at the same time before the age of 24, joining a group headlined by legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer according to OptaAce. 'Jannik Sinner is now one of five players aged 23 or under in the Open Era to simultaneously hold three Men's Singles titles at Grand Slams, along with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,' OptaAct wrote on X, formerly Twitter. This is Sinner's first major title outside of the hard courts of Australia and New York, so he is showing off the same surface versatility that he flashed by making finals on the clay both in Rome and Paris earlier this year. Of course, Sinner is a long way from matching the careers of Federer and Nadal, who have won 20 and 22 Grand Slams respectively. The Italian is far away from those numbers, but he is in good company to start his career. The World No. 1 will now extend his reign at the top of the rankings and will head to the U.S. Open as the defending champion and the heavy favorite to win after knocking off Taylor Fritz in the final in 2024. Alcaraz also has a U.S. Open title of his own back in 2022, so tennis fans will hope that they get a third major final of the season between the two in the Big Apple in September. Related: Carlos Alcaraz sends classy message to Jannik Sinner after final Related: Jannik Sinner reveals how he overcame French Open loss to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Carlos Alcaraz sends classy message to Jannik Sinner after final
The post Carlos Alcaraz sends classy message to Jannik Sinner after final appeared first on ClutchPoints. Carlos Alcaraz sent a classy message to Jannik Sinner after losing the Wimbledon final on Sunday. The sensational Spaniard was vying for his third straight title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, but it wasn't meant to be against the world No. 1. Alcaraz struggled with his serve throughout the afternoon en route to 6-4 4-6 4-6 4-6 defeat. Sinner, who hadn't beaten his main rival since 2023, collected his first major trophy on a non-hard court surface and now has won two out of the three majors in 2025. While Carlos was surely disappointed, the world No. 2 gave the Italian superstar Wimbledon/status/1944465944576704558" rel="noopener">his due props during the post-match interview. The two future legends of the game are the best players in the world right now, as well as good friends. It simply was not Carlos' day on Centre Court against a player whose movement was absolutely superb the entire match. Sinner's return game was in particular impressive, as he won 47% of the points on Alcaraz's first serves and broke his rival four total times. The now four-time slam champion additionally showed some surprising variety throughout the match, which kept him more unpredictable than usual on a surface that encourages it. Sinner will now head into the hard-court summer season, where he has thrived in the past, as the favorite to claim another US Open. With his only major loss this season coming in a classic, five-set epic against Carlos in the French Open final, it's going to take a herculean effort to take the world No. 1 down in New York. Alcaraz, on the other hand, will now regroup for this season, looking to maintain his all-time major pace. The 22-year-old cannot be disappointed with his year to this point, and now he has another chip on his shoulder after losing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2022. Overall, it's shocking to say that Carlos still has his best tennis ahead of him. At still a very young age on tour, the El Palmar, Murcia native is already the second-greatest Spanish tennis player of all time behind the legendary Rafael Nadal. It's going to take a long, long time for Alcaraz to be in the same air as an icon like Rafa, but he has to like where he stands among the greats right now. It's not bad putting together a no-doubt Hall of Fame resume at 22, and there will still be plenty of learning experiences in the future. Related: Jannik Sinner reveals how he overcame French Open loss to beat Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon Related: Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title puts him in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal company
