This year’s Australian Open has set a new benchmark with its prize fund soaring by 16% to reach an unprecedented $111.5 million, marking the largest in the tournament’s history.

Winners of both the men’s and women’s singles categories will each receive a substantial $4.15 million, reflecting a 19% increase over last year’s award.

Despite tennis’s ongoing challenges with pay disparities, Tennis Australia’s CEO, Craig Tiley, expressed optimism that this prize boost will foster a more sustainable career path for all players. Even those participating in the qualifying rounds will earn a noteworthy $40,500.

But what does this mean for Australian athletes, and how does this prize pool measure up against other tennis tournaments and professional sports at large?

As the competition heats up, quarter-final matches continue from Tuesday, leading to the women’s singles final on January 31 and the men’s on February 1.

Following Tuesday’s quarter-final matches, players will continue rounds up until the women’s singles final on 31 January and the men’s on 1 February.

Australia’s very own Alex de Minaur lost Tuesday’s quarter-final against world number one, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Despite falling short, he’ll still pocket $750,000 of prize money which is a 14 per cent increase compared to last year.

After losing her match against Poland’s Iga Świątek in the fourth round on Monday, Australia’s Maddison Inglis took home $480,000.

Her biggest prize money yet, Inglis said she’d invest it back into tennis and ideally fund a support crew made up of friends and family.

She said she’d also love to spend it on a toaster or a kettle, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: “I love shopping, so I’m sure I’ll buy something nice.”

Source: SBS News

The Australian Open is the lowest paying of the four major tennis tournaments behind the US Open, Wimbledon and the French Open.

In 2025, the US Open allocated US$5 million ($7.2 million) to each singles winner. Wimbledon had £4 million ($5.9 million), and the French Open had €2.55 million ($4.3 million).

Inequalities in tennis pay

Tiley said the improvement to the prize pool shows their commitment to “supporting tennis players at every level”.

A career in tennis is notorious for huge pay disparities between players.

Top stars can take home millions, while others may only get a couple thousand, all while self-funding travel, accommodation and coaching.

Back in 2022, New Zealand tennis player Kiranpal Pannu spoke publicly about how he earned around US$6,770 ($9,798) in prize money. But his expenses, mostly travelling to and from tournaments, cost US$34,500 ($49,926).

Wimbledon men’s doubles champion Vasek Pospisil said in 2014: “The most common struggle for anyone ranked outside of the top 100 is financial, and the stress it causes.”

“They’re trying to cover travel expenses and needing to make decisions about where to cut costs, and then not being able to travel [to events] the way they would like to … It’s a snowball effect, it makes it even harder for the lower-ranked guys to break through because they just have less resources,” Pospisil said.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reportedly earned almost US $74.6 million ($108 million) in 2025, making him the highest-paid tennis player in the world. He sits along other greats, yet there are only a few.

The 100th best player in tennis at the time of reporting is Ignacio Buse, a 21 year-old from the US. His total earnings over his career so far sit at US$463,885 ($671,304).

However, the 100th best player in baseball, Kodai Senga, has an annual salary of US$15 million ($21.7 million), as reported by ESPN in 2025.

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