Prize money boost confirmed for Madrid Open as men's and women's champions are set to cash in |
20/04/2025 22:17 -
The tennis world is about to gather in Madrid for a combined ATP 1000 Masters and WTA 1000 tournament at Caja Magica and the prize money on offer has been boosted.
With both the men’s and women’s champions getting equal prize money, the champions are set for a bumper financial windfall that will see them take home prize money of just under €1million.
The €985,030 top prize is an increase on the €963,225 handed out to last year’s champions Iga Swiatek and Andrey Rublev, with the decision to play equal prize money for both champions welcomed by all in the game.
The debate over prize money in the sport is heated at the moment, after the world's leading players came together to write a letter to the four Grand Slam tournaments calling for an increased share of revenue.
The top 20 players from the men's and women's tours wrote to the organisers of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last month, demanding an increase in prize money for the biggest events in tennis.
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Last year, the singles champions at Wimbledon took home £2.7million each while the overall prize money was £50million, double what the All England Club awarded in 2014, but revenues have increased and players believe they should get more of the money generated by the sport.
There is also a drive to help lower ranked players earn more money, yet there is some scepticism over whether the top players are motivated to fight for more money to be handed to pro players struggling to make a living from the sport.
Leading coach Barry Fulcher runs the Progress Tour, which provides chances for players struggling to make the case to earn money playing in events that do not offer world ranking points, and he told Tennis365 that the comments of high-profile players like Novak Djokovic could be treated with scepticism.
"It's absolutely right for Novak to highlight the fact that, relative to other sports, there are so few players in the world able to earn a living from the sport," said Fulcher, who is currently coaching ATP top-20 ranked doubles player Julian Cash.
"If you take what has been said at face value, Novak is absolutely on the money, but I'm not convinced that that is genuinely what the PTPA is fighting for.
"Ultimately, the players [represented by the PTPA] don't feel that their slice of the pie is big enough relative to the revenues generated at the top of the game and I don't disagree with this.
"It would be great to think that the PTPA are fighting the 'good fight' for the lower ranked players at 200, 300, 400 but I don't think this is the motivation behind their moves.
The talks around the breakaway tour are a testament to this – it's not about 'more players earning more money, but rather about the top [few] players earning a bigger share of the revenue. It feels like a bit of a contradiction in terms!
"From my perspective, this has always been the problem – we just don't have enough players earning a living out of the sport, particularly when you consider the amount of wealth and resources we have within it.
"It seems that we are the only sport in the world actively trying to make the number of players earning a living out of it smaller rather than bigger. You only have to look at the recent debate around singles and doubles prize money distribution, with singles players feeling doubles players somehow are 'undeserving' of earning a living.
"So while I think a lot of what the PTPA is fighting for is good in principle, it would be great to understand if they are fighting for a wider spread of money around ALL players in the sport, or just a bigger cut for those at the top of the game.
"When you consider all of the industries and professions that exist because of tennis and thrive off the back of the broader success of pie sport, it becomes clear just how much wealth and resources there are involved in the game. There is no doubt, that amidst all of this, players seem to be one of the most under-represented voices within the game.
"So I would certainly say that players deserve a louder voice when it comes to distributing that revenue and have an established seat at the table. Tennis and its governance need to find a better way of supporting players through the formative part of their careers, providing more players with the opportunities to earn a genuine living from the game and break through the ranks.
"For a number of years now, the revenue generated at this level of the game has risen and been leveraged by the governing bodies [through advertising and selling data to betting companies], whilst player conditions at this level have largely remained unchanged for more than 20 to 25 years.
"Finding an enduring solution to this problem and ensuring athletes are not lost to tennis should be a priority for all of the game's stakeholders. I'd love to see the PTPA genuinely put a stake in the ground for the broader tennis fraternity and commit to supporting the lower ranked players [and events] off the back of this recent action."
PRIZE MONEY FOR ATP AND WTA 1000 TOURNAMENT IN MADRID
Ranking points and prize money
First round: 10 points | €20,820
Second round: 35 points | €30,895
Third round: 65 points | €52,925
Round of 16: 120 points | €90,445
Quarterfinals: 215 points | €165,670
Semifinals: 390 points | €291,040
Finalist: 650 points | €523,870
Champion: 1000 points | €985,030
READ NEXT: WTA Madrid Open draw: Swiatek could face Eala & Ostapenko, Sabalenka's kind draw, Raducanu top half
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