Wimbledon star files petition and blasts 'outdated policy' as players 'left with nothing'

Australian Wimbledon star Daria Saville has created an online petition calling for active players to be allowed to post video footage of themselves at Grand Slams, describing the current situation as “outdated”.

Saville, who lost in the second round at SW19 to Marta Kostyuk, expressed her outrage at the current copyright rules which prohibit stars at events such as Wimbledon from sharing their own highlights on social media platforms.

In the UK, the BBC have held the broadcasting rights to Wimbledon since 1927. The current contract expires in 2027, celebrating 100 years of coverage and 90 years of television coverage on the Beeb.

Those outside of the BBC and official Wimbledon channels face being in breach of copyright policies if they post video content of matches, though Saville has led the opposition and called for help to “modernise” the current rules.

She revealed through a video on her X (formerly known as Twitter) account that she had started a petition to highlight the flaws that currently exist.

"I want justice for the tennis girlies,” the Aussie said. “Because of copyright rules we are not allowed to post any footage of us competing and yes I am salty because these girls are showing their highlight of the day which is fashion but us tennis girlies are left with nothing."

She launched an online petition that, at the time of writing, has 649 signatures after 24 hours and “demands” a change in policy to allow players and fans to share Grand Slam footage on social media.

“As a professional tennis player passionate about growing the game, it pains me that Grand Slams do not currently permit players and fans to share footage and highlights from matches on their social media platforms,” the petition says. “The opportunity for us to self-promote and inspire a broader audience, particularly young and aspiring athletes, is being denied by this outdated copyright policy.

“For the love of the game, to inspire the next generation, and for the advancement of tennis, it's time to modernise the copyright policies. We demand that Grand Slams permit players and fans to share competition footage on their socials. Please join our cause by signing this petition.”

Saville has received support from Daria Kasatkina, who lost to an emotional Paula Badosa in the Wimbledon third round on Friday, as the Russian star runs a YouTube channel called ‘What the Vlog’.

She replied on X: "Justice for Dashkent! Tbh those policies doesn’t make any sense."

Kasatkina already complained about the copyright procedure in a conversation with Tennis Channel, who said that they would send her footage of a segment on their broadcast with Martina Navratilova, but Kasatkina replied: “But don’t block it after. I know you guys, how you do it with the copyright and stuff.”