French Open announces increase in prize money

The French Open has announced an increase in prize money for this summer’s tournament to 39.2million euros (approximately £34million).

The singles champions of the year’s second grand slam, which begins on May 27, will each take home 2.2million euros (approximately £1.9million), up £100,000 from last year.

In keeping with the recent trend, the biggest increases are for the early-round losers. The average rise across the three qualifying rounds is almost 20 per cent while players who are beaten in the first round will take home 40,000 euros (approximately £35,000), an increase of nearly 15 per cent.

The grand slams are under pressure to ramp up prize money, with ATP player council president Novak Djokovic calling a private player meeting on the eve of the Australian Open to discuss the issue and Roger Federer voicing his belief that players deserve a greater slice of the profits.

The Australian Open’s prize fund this year was £30million, while last year Wimbledon paid out £31.6million and the US Open £35.7million.