Tennis: Record prize money for Australian Open winners
Winners at this year’s Australian Open will get £2m in prize money for the first time after organisers of the tennis grand slam increased their total purse.
If Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys are able to defend their titles they’ll receive £2.06m from tournament organisers in Melbourne, up from £1.7m in 2025.
The £55.2m purse, the biggest in Australian Open history, sees the grand slam overtake Wimbledon, though it is still behind the US Open.
Losing finalists will get over £1m while qualifiers that lose in the first round of the pre-tournament will go home with £20,000.
Players would only need to reach the second round proper to take home over £100,000 from the first grand slam of the calendar year.
It comes as Tennis Australia saw a £50m increase in their revenues to £344m.
The £2m picked up by winners of the Australian Open is well short of the £3.7m winners in New York received in the autumn of 2025.
Big Australian Open prize money
The career prize money list sees Serbian Novak Djokovic at the top on $191.3m – excluding sponsorship deals – while fellow “Big Three” members Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer each earned more than $130m.
Active players in the top 15, besides Djokovic, include sixth-place Carlos Alcaraz ($60m), Alexander Zverev (seventh, $58.1m) and Sinner (eighth, $56.6m).
The highest ranked female is Serena Williams ($94.8m), while World No1 Aryna Sabalenka sits 10th, the highest of any active female.
Coco Gauff, despite earning half of Sabalenka’s winnings on the court, pips the Belarusian in total earnings, with $23m in endorsements.
The Australian Open begins on 12 January at Melbourne Park with the final in early February.
In last year’s two main singles finals Italian Sinner beat German Zverev in straight sets while American Keys toppled Sabalenka in three sets.