Sports

Which Grand Slam has the highest prize money?

The start of a new year means the start of the year’s first Grand Slam with the Australian Open commencing in Melbourne every January. From there, the tour moves to Paris for the French Open in May before touching down in London for Wimbledon in July. The US Open is the final Grand Slam of the year which begins in New York at the end of August. 

Managing to win one of these Grand Slams will change a player’s life forever and that’s mostly down to how much money they will receive for doing so. Indeed, the Grand Slams offer the biggest winners checks of any other tennis tournament. The question is, which one pays out the most?

Australian Open 

Despite an announcement that the prize money of the Australian Open would be increased by 13 percent in 2024, the showdown in Melbourne still doesn’t rank in the top spot for the biggest purse. This isn’t to say that the winners won’t be exceptionally well remunerated with the champion men’s and women’s players each taking home a check for $3.15 million. 

The latest tennis odds suggest that Novak Djokovic will be in line to take home this king’s ransom having been priced at +100 to go all the way in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka is one of the favorites in the women’s category after being allocated odds of +350 to win the Australian Open. 

Whatever ends up happening Down Under, being handed a check for over $3 million is a great way to start the year.

French Open

The year’s second Grand Slam in Paris is one of the glitziest affairs in the whole of sports as the world’s best players make their way through the horse-chestnut trees that line the Champs-Élysées and onto the Stade Roland Garros for the French Open. 

Despite the glamor of this tournament, the French Open is the Grand Slam that pays its champions the least. Again, no one should feel too sorry for these competitors as both the winners of the men’s and women’s categories will take home $2.7 million. 

Wimbledon 

The eyes of the sporting world always turn to London during the middle of the English summer for the playing of Wimbledon. The iconic event in SW19 is the Grand Slam players want to win the most as they will be immortalized forever should they be able to.

In addition to securing a lasting legacy, the winners of the men’s and women’s divisions will receive $2.9 million; certainly no mean feat for two weeks of work in England’s capital. 

US Open

When the last Grand Slam of the year comes into view, players begin to see the dollar signs as the US Open is the tournament that offers the highest prize money to its champions. Going all the way in the Big Apple will see both the men’s and women’s winners taking home a check for a grand total of $3.8 million.

Djokovic was the man who walked away with this amount in 2023 and in doing so, took his earnings in Grand Slams for 2023 to just under $13 million after winning three of the year’s four majors. 

These purses will continue to rise in the future and it won’t be long until the minimum a champion receives at a Grand Slam will be $3 million. Suffice it to say that prizes have advanced beyond recognition since the first Grand Slam in 1877 when the winner of Wimbledon was given a 25-guinea trophy.

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