Australian Open prize pool defended by Tennis Australia amid growing player discontent
Governing body Tennis Australia (TA) has defended the amount of prize money on offer at the Australian Open as twice Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff warned that players would raise the pressure if their demands were not met.
The Australian Open hiked prize money to A$111.5 million ($74.56 million) for the current tournament, bringing it ahead of last year’s French Open ($65.42 million) and Wimbledon ($71.60 million) but short of the U.S. Open’s purse ($90 million).
The world’s top players wrote to the Grand Slams calling for significant improvements in prize money in April last year, and a number have expressed dissatisfaction with the situation at Melbourne Park in recent days.
Day 1 results
Men’s Singles
1-Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) beat Adam Walton (AUS) 6-3 7-6(2) 6-2
Yannick Hanfmann (DEU) beat Zachary Svajda (USA) 7-5 4-6 6-4
7-6(3)
Michael Zheng (USA) beat Sebastian Korda (USA) 6-4 6-4 3-6
6-7(0) 6-3
32-Corentin Moutet (FRA) beat Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) 6-4 7-6(1) 6-3
10-Alexander Bublik (KAZ) beat Jenson Brooksby (USA) 6-4 6-4 6-4
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG) 7-6(5) 6-1 6-2
Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-3
(ARG) 6-4
Arthur Fery (GBR) beat 20-Flavio Cobolli (ITA) 7-6(1) 6-4 6-1
29-Frances Tiafoe (USA) beat Jason Kubler (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2
Francisco Comesana (ARG) beat Patrick Kypson (USA) 6-2 6-3 3-6 6-3
3-Alexander Zverev (DEU) beat Gabriel Diallo (CAN) 6-7(1) 6-1 6-4
6-2
Emilio Nava (USA) beat Kyrian Jacquet (FRA) 6-2 7-5 6-7(5)
4-6 7-6(6)
26-Cameron Norrie (GBR) beat Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) 6-0 6-7(2) 4-6
6-3 6-4
18-Francisco Cerundolo beat Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) 6-3 7-6(0) 6-3
(ARG)
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) beat Liam Draxl (CAN) 7-5 6-0 6-4
Jaime Faria (PRT) beat Alexander Blockx (BEL) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4
Women’s Singles
1-Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) beat Tiantsoa Rakotomanga 6-4 6-1
Rajaonah (FRA)
Zhuoxuan Bai (CHN) beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 2-6 7-6(10)
(RUS)
Anastasia Potapova (AUT) beat Suzan Lamens (NLD) 3-6 7-5 6-2
28-Emma Raducanu (GBR) beat Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4 6-1
(THA)
Catherine McNally (USA) beat Himeno Sakatsume (JPN) 6-3 6-1
Polina Kudermetova (UZB) beat Guiomar Maristany Zuleta 6-2 6-3
De Reales (ESP)
Zeynep Sonmez (TUR) beat 11-Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5 4-6 6-4
(RUS)
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) 3-6 7-5 6-3
Elsa Jacquemot (FRA) beat 20-Marta Kostyuk (UKR) 6-7(4) 7-6(4)
7-6(7)
7-Jasmine Paolini (ITA) beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1 6-2
(BLR)
Olga Danilovic (SRB) beat Venus Williams (USA) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4
Hailey Baptiste (USA) beat Taylor Townsend (USA) 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3
12-Elina Svitolina (UKR) beat Cristina Bucsa (ESP) 6-4 6-1
Talia Gibson (AUS) beat Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-1 6-3
Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) beat 26-Dayana Yastremska (UKR) 6-4 7-5
Maria Sakkari (GRC) beat Leolia Jeanjean (FRA) 6-4 6-2
Tournament director Craig Tiley, however, said no players had approached him with any complaints about the Australian Open.
“I’ve also spoken to the players directly, not through third agents, and they are very happy with the Australian Open,” Tiley told the Australian Financial Review (AFR).
“Not one of them has shown any dissatisfaction to me about what we are doing. And I’m not really concerned with what’s said because I know the facts.
“As I said from the beginning, I believe the players should continue to be paid more and more players paid more, we have 128 in the main draw and 128 qualifying (men and women), so we are supporting over 500 players financially each Grand Slam.”
The AFR reported that agents of the world’s top 10 men’s and women’s players had met in Melbourne over the weekend and agreed to take further action seeking a bigger share of the Australian Open revenue.
American world number three Gauff told reporters on Monday she had not heard concrete plans for action over pay but said players would raise the pressure if their demands went unmet.
“I feel like that will have to be a collective decision that we would all have to talk about,” she said after her 6-2 6-3 win in the first round over Kamilla Rakhimova.
“I do know players are going to put more pressure on the Slams if certain things aren’t being met to where we see it.”