French Open Raises Purse to Record  $63.7M, $2.9M First-Place Prize

The French Open, the second Grand Slam on the tennis calendar, announced a record purse and first-place prize.

The total purse at Roland-Garros is worth about $63.7 million (€56.35 million), a 5.21% increase from last year. The first-place prize for the men’s and women’s singles winners is up to $2.9 million (€2.55 million), about $170,000 more than last year.

The French Open has seen an increase in its prize money for four consecutive years following a 10% dip between 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s purse is about 64% more than the 2021 purse ($38.9 million).

The Roland-Garros purse is normally third among the four Grand Slams in terms of prize money, and that will likely remain the same this year. The Australian Open purse in January was about $60 million, while the 2024 purses of Wimbledon (about $66.1 million) and the US Open ($75 million) were higher than this year’s French Open purse.

The New Generation

The French Open marks the first Grand Slam for men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner since he was banned for three months after testing positive for the drug clostebol last year. Sinner avoided a maximum two-year ban—and the timing of his ban coincided with a Grand Slam break in the calendar.

The 23-year-old did not miss a single Grand Slam, and he was also able to make his return for the Italian Open, his home tournament, which started on May 7. 

Sinner made it to the finals, where he lost in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz. With the win, the Spaniard passed Alexander Zverev to move to world No. 2. At Roland-Garros, Alcaraz, 22, has the opportunity to reclaim the No. 1 spot, which he last held in September 2023. He will need to win the tournament, while Sinner will have to go no further than the quarterfinals. 

The two are on opposite sides of the bracket and could meet in the finals. Regardless of what happens, they will make history in Paris as they will be the first top two seeds at a major age 23 or younger since Wimbledon in 2005 (Roger Federer, 23; Andy Roddick, 22), according to the ATP Tour. 

Chasing No. 25

Despite the success of the two young stars, Novak Djokovic continues to hold down the fort for the older generation. Djokovic, who turns 38 on Thursday, is still chasing the elusive 25th Grand Slam—which would give him the most Grand Slam titles in history, male or female.

There will be a slight change for Djokovic on the sidelines compared to the Australian Open. Djokovic and Andy Murray decided to end their player-coach relationship last week. On Tuesday, the Serbian confirmed that former tennis pro Dušan Vemić will be on the sidelines during the French Open, but clarified that Vemić will not be a full-time trainer.

“At the moment, I’m not in need of a coach,” Djokovic told media members Tuesday at the Geneva Open.