Sabalenka & Co. risk turning Wimbledon into a referendum on greed

On the eve of Wimbledon, the sport’s most storied tournament, professional tennis finds itself talking less about champions — and more about checks.A group of top players announced this week that when the matches begin on Monday, they’ll limit their press conferences to precisely 15 minutes apiece as a form of protest.What started last month as a debate over prize money is morphing into something else: a story not about fairness, but about naked avarice.At the center of the battle is top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who has been pushing her fellow high-paid players to insist on receiving a greater share of revenues from the Grand Slams, tennis’ four major tournaments.Her argument is simple enough: no players, no show.“Without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment,” she said at this year’s Italian Open.“I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage.”Then came a remark that reverberated throughout the sport.“I think at some point we will boycott,” she declared. A players’ strike against the sport of kings? Unthinkable.Yet Sabalenka’s stance has gained significant support from a clutch of top players.“If everyone were to move as one and collaborate, yeah, I can 100% see” a Grand Slam walkout, American star Coco Gauff said in May.But the aggrieved athletes are missing an important truth.Without the golden platforms of the French Open, the Australian Open, the US Open and above all Wimbledon, stars like Sabalenka and Gauff aren’t created in the first place.Look at Serena Williams, making a return to action at Wimbledon next week. The 44-year-old’s 23 Grand Slam singles titles her gained international fame, wealth and influence.She used her clout to expand opportunity for others, fighting for equal prize money and greater respect for women’s tennis. But Williams has been conspicuously quiet on the payout issue — because today’s fight isn’t about recognition or equality; it’s...