Prize Money at 2012 Australian Open for Men’s and Women’s Singles Players

This is the prize money that tennis players can earn at the Australian Open in 2012. The prize money shown is in U.S. dollars. The Australian Open begins on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012.

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tennis tournament held each year. I've been a tennis player and tennis fan since I was a kid over four decades ago. When I was a kid, the Australian Open was not considered a big deal. Many of the top players skipped the tournament, and it was hard to watch on TV. Bjorn Borg played at the Australian Open just once in his great career.

That is certainly not true today. Almost all of the top tennis players today travel down under to play in the Australian Open, if they are healthy. And ESPN carries many of the matches live. I'm one of the tennis nuts in the United States who stays up late to watch Australian Open tennis matches.

One of the main reasons most of the players travel to Australia to play in the open is the prize money they can win. The Australian Open offers the men's and women's singles winners the highest prize money of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, not including extra bonus money players must qualify for.

Prize Money at the 2012 Australian Open for Men's and Women's Singles Players

First Round - $20,590

Players in the first round of the Australian Open earn $20,950.

Second Round - $34,282

Players who make it to the second round earn $34,282. So winning in the first round is worth $13,332.

Third Round - $56,236

Players advancing to the third round in singles play make $56,236. So a second round win is worth $21,954.

Fourth Round - $112,473

Making it to the fourth round is worth $112,473 to each player. That's double what a third round winners earns, so the Australian Open really starts to reward the winners in the fourth round.

Quarter Finalist - $224,946

The open again doubles the prize money for players advancing to the quarterfinals.

Semifinalist - $449,892

Semifinalists earn double what the players they defeat in the quarters earn.

Runner-Up - $1,183,926

Making it to the men's or woman's singles final at the Australian Open is worth $1,183,926. That's $733,944 more than what the semifinalists earn.

Winner - $2,367,850

The men's and woman's singles winners will each take home a grand prize of $2,367,850. That is just about double what the runner-ups earn. The Australian Open pays its winners more than the other Grand Slam tennis events. That's not including bonus money the players can earn at the U.S. Open. A player can potentially earn more by winning the U.S. Open, but only if the player qualifies for the extra bonus.

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