Australian Open 2020 Announces Record Breaking Prize Money

Australian Open 2020 will see the players competing for a record prize money of 71 million  dollars . This is a 13.6 per cent increase on the record purse in 2019.

The rise can be seen as another example of the continuous trend of increase in prize money. Australian Open prize money has more than doubled over the last decade from $25 million in 2011.

How Much Money Will The Players Take Home?

Players who lose in the first round of qualifying will earn $20000(up 33.3 per cent). The athletes who make it to the first round of the main draw will take home $90000(up 20 per cent). Players who qualify for the second round will win a total of $128,000(up 21.9 per cent) and those that make it to the third round win $180,000. Fourth round qualifiers will win $300,000.

Now, let’s talk about the players who make it to the knockout stages. Quarter finalists will make $525,000. The semi finalists will pocket a total sum of $1.04 million(up 13 per cent). The runner ups will be winning $265,000 while the winners of the tournament will make $4,120,000.

The winners of the men’s and women’s doubles events will win a total of $760,000. On the other hand, the winners of mixed doubles will win $190,000.

Know More- Kim Clijsters reveals her return date after withdrawing from Australian Open 2020

What Did The Tournament Director Say?

Australian Open 2020 tournament director Craig Tiley said that the increase was another step in continuing to invest in the playing group.

“We have long been committed to improving the pay and conditions for a deeper pool of international tennis players, in fact since AO 2007 prize money has more than tripled from $20 million to the $71 million for 2020 we are announcing today,” Tiley said

“This year, as we do every year, we worked with the tours to establish the weighting for prize money increases round-by-round, and we pushed to reward players competing early in the tournament in both singles and doubles.”

“We strongly believe in growing prize money at all levels of the game and we will continue to work with the playing group to create viable career paths in the sport and enable more players to make more money.”

What Are The Other Grand Slams Paying?

US Open 2019 was the richest grand slam in terms of prize money. However, the Australian open pays more money in the qualification rounds than the US open and Roland Garros. The round one prize money is more or less similar for all the grand slams.

Know More- How much is the US Open 2019 prize money worth?

The US Open pays 20 per cent more than the Australian Open and Wimbledon and 30 per cent more than Roland Garros to its winners.

What Does This Mean For The Sport? 

The increasing prize money is a good sign for the sport. It is great to see that players making it to the first round of qualifying are also making a good amount. This means that the organizers realize the amount of hard work that it takes for a player to compete at the highest level.

Do you think increasing prize money in tennis is good for the sport?