Last year, the total prize money for the French Open took a significant cut because of the coronavirus pandemic. Compared to the 2019 edition, the prize money for the 2020 edition came down to €38 million, a reduction of 10.93%.

Until a few weeks back, the tournament officials had kept the total prize money for the 2021 French Open unchanged to last year’s levels. However, as per recent reports, there will be a slight decrease in the prize money for the upcoming Grand Slam.

Prize money reduced for 2021 French Open

The total prize money for the 2021 French Open will be around €34 million, which is a further dip from the already squeezed prize budget of the 2020 edition.

Due to the pandemic, the French Tennis Federation had reapportioned the prize money last year in favor of qualifiers and early round losers to help them offset the fall in the earnings. Following the same approach, a player who loses in the 1st round will again receive €60,000 in the 2021 edition.

“We are the Grand Slam tournament with the thinnest gap between the winner and the 1st-round loser,” said the tournament director, Guy Forget.

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The decrease in purse size for the 2021 French Open will affect the champion. Last year, Rafael Nadal received prize money of €1.6 million, which was 30.43% less than the amount he collected after winning the trophy in 2019.

Originally scheduled to start on May 23, the organizers last month postponed the French Open by a week to May 30. The reason behind the decision was to have the event “in front of as many spectators as possible” in a safe environment.

Notably, the 2021 edition will have night matches under the floodlights on the main court in a bid to attract more viewers. With the retractable roof made functional over court Philippe-Chatrier last year, the night matches will add a new flavor to the tournament’s history.