French Open: Overall less prize money, losers in the first round get more
At the French Open, overall less prize money will be paid out this year than in the previous year. The first-round losers, on the other hand, can look forward to an increase.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 22, 2020, 01:46 am
The starting signal for the French Open in Paris will be given on September 27th: unlike the US Open in New York, almost all of the top stars will be at the start for both men and women. Naturally, the Grand Slam tournaments are not only about fame, honor and the title, but also a lot of money - this year too.
A total of 38.41 million euros in prize money will be distributed at the French Open this year. That is almost 4.2 million euros less than in the previous year, but in view of the Corona crisis and the resulting economically tense situation, the players can still look forward to generous prize money.
Reallocation of distribution
In particular, the fact that a maximum of 5,000 spectators per day will be at the facility in 2020 caused the prize money to shrink compared to the previous year. The winners of the individual competitions receive only 1.6 million euros instead of 2.3 million, the finalists instead of 1.18 million euros 850,500.
For the first-round losers, however, there is more money this year than ever before: They now receive 60,000 euros, almost 31 percent more than in the past season. This decision is justified with the corona-related loss of earnings for the less successful players. From the second round, however, the professionals have to accept price money reductions.