Tennis Australia Reduces Pay Cheques For Players Due To COVID-19

Tennis Australia received a lot of flak when it decided to proceed with the 2021 Australia Open in Melbourne, Australia. There were many who called for the first grand slam of the year to be cancelled in light of COVID-19.

There was a lot of drama leading into the Australian Open as players who showed up for the tournament complained about the 14 day quarantine period, poor food quality and being unable to practice before a major grand slam.

However, most of the top players who have showed up for the Australian Open have taken things in their stride and have even put up with having their pay cheques reduced due to COVID-19.

The top tennis players who play the final of the Australia Open are guaranteed to take home million dollar cheques. However, Tennis Australia has been forced to reduce the size of their cheques due to COVID-19.

Tennis Australia informed players that they were pumping in more cash during the 2021 Australian Open but would still reduce the pay cheques for the top prizes because they wanted to spread the cash and give back more to players who exited during the qualifiers and early rounds.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said that they he had received zero negative feedback from the top players over this proposal. Players like Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic supported the move as they know that a lot of tennis players have been struggling financially after COVID-19 brought tennis to a standstill for most of 2020.

To get the latest odds for this years tournament and who we think will walk away with the single titles checkout our betting guide to the 2021 Australia Open.

Prize Money For 2021 Australian Open

This will give you an idea as to what is happening with the prize money during the 2021 Australian Open. Tennis Australia has pumped in an additional $9 million to the total prize pool this year when compared to 2020. Over $80 million in prize money will be distributed to players.

The singles tournament winners received A$4.1 million in 2020 but will now take home only A$2.75 million. The runner-ups in 2020 took home $2.05 million but will take home just $1.5 million in 2021. The A$2.75 million payout to the singles winner is the lowest pay check at the Australian Open since 2014.

The winner of the doubles tournament also take a hit in prize money dropping from $760,000 in 2020 to $600,000 in 2021.