French Open announces increase in prize money
Thursday 22 March 2018 18:01, UK
The French Open has announced an increase in prize money for this summer's tournament to £34m.
The singles champions of the year's second grand slam, which begins on May 27, will each take home 2.2m euros (approximately £1.9m), up £100,000 from last year.
In keeping with the recent trend, the biggest increases are for the early-round losers. The average rise across the three qualifying rounds is almost 20 per cent while players who are beaten in the first round will take home 40,000 euros (approximately £35,000), an increase of nearly 15 per cent.
The Grand Slams are under pressure to ramp up prize money, with ATP player council president Novak Djokovic calling a private player meeting on the eve of the Australian Open to discuss the issue and Roger Federer voicing his belief that players deserve a greater slice of the profits.
The Australian Open's prize fund this year was £30m, while last year Wimbledon paid out £31.6m and the US Open £35.7m.
You can watch more ATP Masters 1000 action from the Miami Open when we continue our coverage on Sky Sports Arena on Friday at 3pm.
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