$40,000 for a loss in round one of qualifying. Welcome to the $111m Australian Open

1 month ago 7

The Australian Open dreams of French duo Arthur Bouquier and Selena Janicijevic ended in a little more than an hour on the opening day of qualifying on Monday – but all was not lost.

The pair still pocketed $40,500 for their straight-sets losses. The hefty paydays are part of a tournament that this year will distribute $111.5 million in prizemoney.

France’s Selena Janicijevic is $40,500 richer after losing her Australian Open qualifying match on Monday.

Those who are knocked out in the first round of qualifying on Monday and Tuesday will still take home a handy amount of money for one day’s work – a 16 per cent increase on last year. The prizemoney for losing in the second and third rounds of qualifying is $57,000 and $83,500, respectively.

While $40,500 is a lot of money, the cost for players to reach that level is also very high.

Win three qualifying matches, make it to the tournament proper and things look brighter still: players losing in the opening round of the Australian Open will collect $150,000.

Handy increases come with every win after that, and the men’s and women’s champions will each win $4.15 million.

The Open’s inflated prize pool was announced last week and makes the tournament second among the four grand slams for total prizemoney, behind the US Open’s $US85 million ($126.8 million).

The total increase in prizemoney across all rounds of the Australian Open is $15 million, also 16 per cent, and the qualifying rounds get the second-biggest increase in prizemoney. The only round to see a larger increase is for the tournament winners, up 19 per cent from 2025, $3.5 million to $4.15 million.

The announcement follows pressure from top players, including world No.1s Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, who in July signed a letter to all four grand slam organisers requesting a greater share of revenue. It was the second letter sent by top players and followed the filing of an antitrust lawsuit by the Professional Tennis Players Association in New York in March, also seeking more money for players from the men’s and women’s tours.

Announcing the prizemoney last week, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said the increase helped the sport’s long-term growth.

“This 16 per cent increase demonstrates our commitment to supporting tennis careers at every level,” he said in a statement.

“From boosting qualifying prizemoney by 55 per cent since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we’re ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors ... By supporting players at all levels, we’re building deeper talent pools and more compelling storylines for fans.”

The announcement comes less than a month after Tennis Australia recorded more than $600 million in revenue for past financial year.

On Sunday, Tiley told the Australian Financial Review that he’d had positive feedback from top players on the prizemoney increase despite news reports saying otherwise.

“I have seen quite a few of the top 10 players over the past three or four days, and the comments of the people that I’ve seen definitely don’t align,” he said. “They are very happy with the increase.”

The first-round qualifiers began in Melbourne on Monday and Bouquier, 25, was the first player to be knocked out after losing to Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-2. Not long after, Janicijevic and the Czech Republic’s Laura Samson were the first women knocked out.

Increased assistance for players’ travel (up 67 per cent) was also included in the pay announcement, making the journey home for Bouquier, Janicijevic and Samson a little less bitter.