Who would have thought that watching a ball being hit from side to side for HOURS could be so enthralling?

Yet, with the Australian Open (AO) semi finals underway, millions will be tuning in to see who takes home the 2024 Australian Open championships in the Men’s and Women’s draw.

As the biggest sports and entertainment event worldwide in January, the Australian Open has also become a ginormous feather in the Victorian economy’s hat. 

So how much do the players earn from the Australian Open?

The prize pool alone is a record $86.5 million, a 13% increase on last year's pool.

The good news is that this year, Tennis Australia is directing more of the prize money towards early rounds of singles and doubles.

Here's a breakdown of the prize pool for both the singles and doubles tournaments.

SINGLES – men's and women's
(Per player – 128 draw)

DOUBLES – men's and women's
(Per team – 64 draw)

But this prize pool is just a fraction of the costs for Tennis Australia’s Australian Open. 

In fact, last year, it’s believed that Tennis Australia spent over $500 million to host the Australian Open. 

Think: $30 million on advertising and marketing, $50 million on staffing costs plus additional costs on travel, decking out Melbourne Park, and perks for players and officials.

And what’s the cost for the Victorian economy?

Despite record attendance numbers, and record revenue figures in the past few years, the Victorian government has still been giving Tennis Australia a helping hand.

Over the pandemic period between 2020 and 2022, the Victorian government provided $100 million of taxpayer money to keep Tennis Australia’s oxygen mask on. That includes a $40 million loan, which Tennis Australia no longer needs to pay back. Can we get some of that?!

Then the government also made a near $1 billion commitment to redevelop Melbourne between 2010 and 2019 to lock in AO hosting rights until 2046.

Short-term pain = long-term gain

The Victorian Government has been bending over backwards to lock in Victoria as the home of the Australian Open because of the enormous economic uplift and clout that the tournament provides to the state.

Over the last 10 years, the AO has brought in more than $2.71 billion to the Victorian economy. 

This year alone, the AO is expected to have brought in a record crowd of over 900,000 people from over 30 countries, and created 1,700 full-time jobs in the Victorian economy.

And the scale of this Grand Slam continues to grow year after year. In fact, it’s believed that over the next 10 years, the AO is expected to bring in an additional $4 billion of economic uplift. 

So the Australian Open is a cash cow that the Victorian government is holding tightly… for as long as they can.