No matter how excited you are to watch the Australian Open matches; the Prize Money is also something to gush about! So here’s a complete breakdown of the Australian Open Prize Money 2021.
The Australian Open is a popular tennis event held each year at Melbourne Park during the final two weeks of January.
It is the first of the year’s four Grand Slam tournaments – French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open are the other three events. This competition is open to both men and women tennis players.
Some of the highest-paid tennis players in history have built their wealth in Australia, notably Novak Djokovic, who has won the event eight times. He’s back in the hunt for a ninth victory in Melbourne.
If you’re also wondering “what is Australian Open prize money?“, this post is for you!
What is the Australian Open?
Before 1988, the Australian Open was held on grass courts. Three varieties of hardcourt grounds have been utilized since then. Green Rebound Ace from 2007, blue Plexicushion from 2008 to 2019, and blue GreenSet after 2020.
For those who don’t know it, this is why tennis courts are Blue.
The Australasian Championships were first held in 1905. Ever since it has grown to be one of the most important sports events in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Australian Open is by far the most popular Grand Slam tournament, with more than 800,000 people scheduled to join the 2020 edition. The Open is also known as the “happy slam” and the Asia Pacific Grand Slam.
Tennis Australia, previously known as the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, manages the tournament, which was originally held in November 1905 at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground in Melbourne. In 1969, the title was changed to the Australian Open.
Prior to 1972, the Open was hosted in five locations in Australia and two in New Zealand. The organizers opted to conduct the event in Melbourne in 1972 since the city had the highest attendance of any Australian city at the time.
Due to Australia’s geographical isolation at the turn of the twentieth century, very few foreign players attended the event. In the 1920s, it took 45 days to sail by ship from Europe to Australia.
Australian Open 2021 Dates
Since 1977, when it shifted from a December opening to a January opening, the Australian Open has always been the customary grand event in the Grand Slam season.
The promoters even completed the 2020 event on time when practically no sport activity worked properly, despite the fact that it was organized when Australia was battling devastating wildfires instead of the grasp of the coronavirus epidemic.
Tennis Australia had anticipated that, with the virus nearly eradicated in the country, the event could resume as usual, even with crowds permitted into the Melbourne site, with Monday 18th January the initial goal date, with the men’s final concluding proceedings on Sunday 31st January.
Unfortunately, the practicalities of having an expected 2,500 individuals into the nation via a 14-day quarantine procedure, including players, coaches, international tournament authorities, and management, have proven difficult.
Tennis Australia has collaborated with the national and state governments in the state of Victoria to develop a strategy to guarantee that Melbourne remains mostly Covid-free.
Craig Tiley, the tournament director, stated the Australian Open would have to be postponed by several weeks and will begin on Monday, February 8, with the men’s singles Final taking place on Sunday, February 21.
Australian Open 2021 Tournament Schedule
| Date | Matches |
|---|---|
| 8 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 1st round |
| 9 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 1st round |
| 10 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 2nd round |
| 11 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 2nd round |
| 12 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 3rd round |
| 13 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 3rd round |
| 14 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 4th round |
| 15 February | Men’s and Women’s singles 4th round |
| 16 February | Men’s and Women’s singles quarter-finals |
| 17 February | Men’s and Women’s singles quarter-finals |
| 18 February | Women’s semi-finals and Men’s semi-final (1st) |
| 19 February | Men’s semi-final (2nd) |
| 20 February | Women’s final |
| 21 February | Men’s final |
Australian Open Prize Money Breakdown
The Australian Open has changed in 2021, including the prize money. While the total prize pool has been boosted by roughly $7 million, the sum awarded to winners in Australia has decreased.
The overall purse in 2021 will be $61.95 million, with the men’s and women’s singles champions each receiving $2.13 million. Last year’s winners received $3.12 million as their winning money.
According to the tournament director Craig Tiley, the more equitable allocation was intended to assist offset the enormous expenditures paid by participants traveling to Australia during a pandemic.
Regarding the pandemic’s terrible economic effects throughout the world, the overall prize money for 2021 is up 0.70 percent from last year.
Players who fail in the first qualification round will get $25,000, and those who fail in the starting round of the main draw would receive $100,000, representing a 25% and 11.11% increase in prize money, correspondingly.
These raises are evident across the bulk of the main competition, with the exception of the final contenders, runners-up, and semi-finalists, that saw their compensation drastically decreased compared to the previous year.
This year’s Australia Open champion will get $2,750,000, a -33.25 percent decrease from the previous year. The runner-up earns $1,500,000, a 27.36 percent decrease.
With the first Grand Slam tournament of the year set to take place between the 8th and 23rd of February 2021, players are preparing to take to the courts at Melbourne Park.
The arrangements for this year’s game were a little different than normal, especially for those players who were confined in a hotel room with no access to tennis courts.
Many will claim that the circumstances just did not let these professional tennis players perform at their peak. They may, ultimately, take home a sizable sum of money whether they win or lose.
Prize Money Breakdown for the Australian Open 2021
Men and Women (Singles)
| 2021 | Prize Money USD | Prize Money EUR | Prize Money GBP | % Change Vs 2020 |
| Winner | $2,138,125 | €2,750,000 | £1,396,425 | -33.25% |
| Runner-up | $1,166,250 | €1,500,000 | £761,686 | -27.36% |
| Semifinal | $660,875 | €850,000 | £431,622 | -18.27% |
| Quarterfinal | $408,188 | €525,000 | £266,590 | 0.00% |
| Round 4 | $248,800 | €320,000 | £162,493 | 6.67% |
| Round 3 | $167,163 | €215,000 | £109,175 | 19.44% |
| Round 2 | $116,625 | €150,000 | £76,169 | 17.19% |
| Round 1 | $77,750 | €100,000 | £50,779 | 11.11% |
| Q3 | $40,819 | €52,500 | £26,659 | 5.00% |
| Q2 | $27,213 | €35,000 | £17,773 | 7.69% |
| Q1 | $19,438 | €25,000 | £12,695 | 25.00% |
Men and Women (Doubles)
| 2021 | Prize Money $ USD | Prize Money € EUR | Prize Money £ GBP | % Change vs 2020 |
| Winner | $466,638 | €600,000 | £335,156 | -21.05% |
| Runner-up | $264,428 | €340,000 | £189,922 | -10.53% |
| Semifinal | $155,546 | €200,000 | £111,719 | 0.00% |
| Quarterfinal | $85,550 | €110,000 | £61,445 | 0.00% |
| Round 3 | $50,552 | €65,000 | £36,309 | 4.84% |
| Round 2 | $34,998 | €45,000 | £25,137 | 18.42% |
| Round 1 | $23,332 | €30,000 | £16,758 | 20.00% |
Men and Women (Mixed Doubles)
| 2021 | Prize Money $ USD | Prize Money € EUR | Prize Money £ GBP | % Change vs 2020 |
| Winner | $115,275 | €150,000 | £65,956 | -21.05% |
| Runner-up | $65,323 | €85,000 | £37,375 | -15.00% |
| Semifinal | $34,583 | €45,000 | £19,787 | -10.00% |
| Quarterfinal | $18,444 | €24,000 | £10,553 | 0.00% |
| Round 2 | $9,222 | €12,000 | £5,276 | 0.00% |
| Round 1 | $4,803 | €6,250 | £2,748 | 0.00% |
The Australian Open presently ranks first among the Grand Slams in terms of overall prize money, however modifications in 2021 have pushed the winner’s purse to third place.
Australian Open Total Prize Money History
| Year | Australian Open € | % Increase |
| 2021 | €71,500,000 | 0.70% |
| 2020 | €71,000,000 | 13.60% |
| 2019 | €62,500,000 | 13.64% |
| 2018 | €55,000,000 | 10.00% |
| 2017 | €50,000,000 | 13.64% |
| 2016 | €44,000,000 | 10.00% |
| 2015 | €40,000,000 | 21.21% |
| 2014 | €33,000,000 | 10.00% |
| 2013 | €30,000,000 | 15.38% |
| 2012 | €26,000,000 | 3.98% |
| 2011 | €25,005,635 | 3.78% |
Australian Open Prize Money 2021 Facts
- Qualifiers from the first round earned AUD 25,000 (increased by 25% from 2020)
- The singles champions have a prize money of AUD 2,750,000
- Main draw singles from the first would have a prize of AUD 100,000 (increased by 11% from 2020)
- Australian Open Prize purse 2021 increased by 0.70% from 2020 and is now $71.15 million
- The overall prize money this year is almost tripled compared to 2011 (increased by 185%)
Australian Open Prize Money Winners 2021
Djokovic is still the defending champion for the men’s tennis at the Australian Open and has maintained his title this year as well.
Serena Williams may hold the record for winning most women’s singles titles (which is 23) of the Open Era but Japanese player Naomi Osaka emerged as the women’s champion at this year’s Australian Open.
Take a look at the rest.
| Men’s Singles | Novak Djokovic |
| Women’s Singles | Naomi Osaka |
| Men’s Doubles | Ivan Dodig / Filip Polášek |
| Women’s Doubles | Elise Mertens / Aryna Sabalenka |
| Mixed Doubles | Barbora Krejčíková / Rajeev Ram |
| Wheelchair Men’s Singles | Joachim Gérard |
| Wheelchair Women’s Singles | Diede de Groot |
| Wheelchair Quad Singles | Dylan Alcott |
| Wheelchair Men’s Doubles | Alfie Hewett / Gordon Reid |
| Wheelchair Women’s Doubles | Diede de Groot / Aniek van Koot |
| Wheelchair Quad Doubles | Dylan Alcott / Heath Davidson |
Final Thoughts
The prize for this year’s Australian Open remains constant at £40 million.
The first grand slam of the season, which normally showcases the world’s greatest tennis players straight from their seasonal training, is usually a big money spinner for the Australian state.
Even though the overall prize money pool has increased, the winners’ portion has decreased by 33% this year as organizers prioritize rewards to lower-ranked participants who have been adversely affected by the outbreak.
My name is Reagen and I started AllTennisGear (earlier AllTennisShoes) as a way to share my humble experience and help new Tennis players. Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day here and know that your feedback is always welcome.