Australian Open prize money problem needs to be fixed for tournament to maintain status
Australian Open tennis chiefs are under pressure to raise their prize money pot for the 2026 tournament after they fell horribly behind their Grand Slam rivals with the cash prizes they offer up for the first major of the tennis year.
The total prize pot for the 2025 Australian Open was AUD $96.5 million, up nearly 12 per cent on 2024, which works out at around $64m in US dollars.
There was a money increase in every round and the men’s champion Jannik Sinner and women’s singles champion Madison Keys each earned AUD $3.5 million, around $2.3million US dollars.
Australian Open prize money has increased 119 per cent from $44 million in 2016 (10 years) and has gone up more than 36 per cent in the past five editions, but it is still lagging behind the other Grand Slams in the prize money stakes.
The French Open at Roland Garros offered prize money of over $66m US dollars, with champions Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff collecting almost $3million US dollars.
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The prize money at Wimbledon is also bigger than the Australian Open, with champions collecting over $4million US dollars and the US Open went to the next level in September by handing champions Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka $5million US dollars for the first time in September.
Players continue to argue they should be paid more at Grand Slams, with the average cut of income to prize money down at around 12-15 per-cent.
World No 1 Sabalenka urged the Grand Slams tournaments to “come to the table” as the leading stars ramp up the pressure over their calls for increased prize money and greater player welfare in October, as she offered up these comments to the BBC.
“The Slams are the top of our sport. I would just ask that they come to the table to have a conversation and see if we can find mutually beneficial solutions,” said Sabalenka.
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic has also been outspoken in his criticism of the prize money cut going to the game’s top players, as he suggested they are not getting a fair slice of the cake.
“Obviously, it’s always nice and positive to see that Grand Slams are willing to improve the prize money overall across the board for the players,” said Djokovic, as he spoke about the increase to $5million for the US Open winner.
“Whether it’s an ideal situation for us, I think overall I don’t think so. I think there is still a lot more room for improvement in that sense.”
Djokovic also hit out at critics who suggested his motivation to increase prize money was designed to boost his own considerable wealth as he added: “I see that in the past when I talk about this topic, people like to say, ‘well, look at him, wanting more money for himself’. It’s not about that,” said the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
“I’m just talking about overall. Not many tennis players live out of this sport globally. That’s not something that I see has been talked about enough.
“It’s also important to understand that we live in a very commercial world. The entertainment and sports business is very big.
“And for Grand Slams, they are doing very well as well. So the US Open increased the prize money. Other slams are doing it too. But they also have a bigger revenue than the previous year.
“Then there is the inflation part, which is a completely different topic, but important to take in consideration when you talk about these things. Overall, it’s definitely a positive step.”
The debate over prize money at the Grand Slams is certain to be reignited when Australian Open chiefs confirm their cash plans for the first major of the New Year, as their winner last year collected less than half the cash received by the US Open champions.
