Australian Open organisers announce record prize money for upcoming edition: 'Sustainable for all competitors'

The upcoming Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam, will be making players richer than ever with the tournament’s organisers announcing a 16 per cent hike in the total prize money on offer. An announcement on Tuesday, less than two weeks before the main draw of the tournament gets underway, revealed that the total prize money now stands at a total of A$111.5 million ($74.88 million), with the winner of the men’s and women’s singles competitions pocketing A$4.15 million each.

Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys had won A$3.5 million each when they had won the men’s and women’s singles titles last year.

Tennis Australia aiming to support ’tennis careers at every level’

“This 16 per cent increase demonstrates our commitment to supporting tennis careers at every level,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said on Tuesday. “From boosting qualifying prize money by 55 per cent since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we’re ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors.”

Tiley added that the hike in the Australian Open prize fund is part of Tennis Australia’s $135 million investment across the “Summer of Tennis” which the governing body for the sport in the country feels “strengthens tennis’s foundation, ensuring the sport’s long-term health and commercial growth”.

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The largest prize pool in Australian Open history 🤩https://t.co/E1jc7T9Iyk

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 6, 2026

The upcoming Australian Open will offer a higher prize fund than last year’s Wimbledon and French Open, which had offered $72.49 million and $66.12 million respectively. The season-ending US Open, however, remains the richest of the four majors, having offered a combined prize fund of $90 million last year.

Players making a first-round exit at Melbourne Park are set to earn A$150,000, a 14 per cent boost from what they were earning last year, while A$83,500 is what players bowing out in the third round will be walking away with. Organisers have also hiked the prize fund for the qualifying rounds by 16 per cent.

The 2026 Australian Open qualifiers begin on Monday, 12 January with the man draw getting underway six days later on Sunday. The tournament is set to conclude on Sunday, 1 February.

While Novak Djokovic will be aiming to end Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz's Grand Slam dominance in men’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka will be hoping to collect a third women’s singles title in four years.