Sat, April 18, 2026
9.5% increase in French Open prize money
The 2026 French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament will be held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris from 18 May to 7 June 2026. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) will ensure that the singles’ champions win 2.8m euros, or £2.44 million, which is just under a 10% increase from last year. There will roughly be a 13% rise in prize money for the qualifying rounds. Main draw first round losers will receive an increase of around 11.5%, so 87,000 euros, or £75,700, according to BBC Sport.
Although this is an increase which will benefit players across the stages, the US Open increased its prize money by 20% last year and the Australian Open by around 16% this year.
The federation may have been influenced players such as America’s Jessica Pegula who told BBC Sport last month, in relation to the US Open prize money, that: “All the money went towards the end of the tournament and what we're looking for is how we help the ecosystem of the sport and maybe that's spreading it out in the lower rounds a little bit more evenly.”
Additionally, in the wake of America’s double Grand Slam winner, Coco Gauff, being filmed smashing her racket after her defeat during the Australian Open quarter-final against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina without her knowing, which was broadcast globally, French Open Director, Amelie Mauresmo, commented: “We want to maintain the respect for their privacy. They need to have a private area, so we won't change on that stance.”
Furthermore, following the controversy surrounding professional tennis players having been told to remove fitness trackers from their wrists during the Australian Open 2026 as such technology was not yet allowed at Grand Slams, they will be permitted to wear them during the French Open for the first time, extending also to Wimbledon and the US Open.
Notably, unlike the other 3 Grand Slams, line judges will remain at the French Open for at least one more year, as opposed to Electronic Line Calling (ELC). Speaking about the ELC technology to BBC Sport, president of the FFT, Gilles Moretton, stated: “We look around, we see what is going on elsewhere, we see that it's not perfect - there's a 10% margin of error.”
As the French Open is the only Grand Slam played on clay, he elaborated: “On clay, we are lucky because we can have the footprints of the balls.”
