By Frank Dalleres
The French Open has increased prize money to record levels in 2024, with the bar raised for both the overall pot and the winners’ share.
A total of €53.5m (£45.6m) will be distributed at Roland Garros, a rise of 7.8 per cent on last year’s tournament.
The winners of this weekend’s men’s and women’s singles finals will both pocket €2.4m, up 4.3 per cent on the 2023 payouts.
This is a third consecutive year of increases in both sums after tennis, in common with many other sports, was forced to cut prize money during the pandemic.
And for the first time the payouts on offer at the French Open have reached beyond the pre-Covid era and into new record territory.
The Paris showpiece is the third most lucrative of the four Grand Slam events, converting sums into US dollars for ease of comparison.
Its first prizes of €2.4m equate to $2.61m, which is substantially more than the $2.13m Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka received for winning the Australian Open.
The French Open trails behind Wimbledon and the US Open for payouts, however.
All England Club chiefs paid the winners of Wimbledon £2.35m ($2.97m) last year and that figure could rise again when the tournament returns next month.
The US Open is the most generous of the four Grand Slams, paying $3m to its winners in 2023. Again, that figure could rise again this year.
All pale in comparison to the maximum $4.8m on offer to the winner of the season-ending ATP Finals, however. The winner of the women’s equivalent, the WTA Finals, can win up to $3.08m.
The women’s French Open singles final takes place on Saturday, with the men’s final on Sunday.
