Australian Open Prize Money 2015: Updated Purse Payout for Melbourne
The 2015 Australian Open came to a conclusion with the men's final on Sunday as Novak Djokovic bagged his fifth title in Melbourne by beating Andy Murray in four sets.
The Serb and women's champion Serena Williams will each receive $3.1 million for their efforts, according to the event's official website, while Murray and Maria Sharapova walk home with $1.55 million for making the final.
Nearly $30 million worth of prize money was reserved for the singles' tournaments in 2015, a new Australian Open record. Here's what the full payout looks like:
| Serena Williams/Novak Djokovic | $3,100,000 | Winners | $575,000 |
| Maria Sharapova/Andy Murray | $1,550,000 | Runners-up | $285,000 |
| Semifinalists | $650,000 | Semifinalists | $142,500 |
| Quarterfinalists | $340,000 | Quarterfinalists | $71,000 |
| Round of 16 | $175,000 | Round of 16 | $39,000 |
| Round of 32 | $97,500 | Round of 32 | $23,000 |
| Round of 64 | $60,000 | First Round | $14,800 |
| First Round | $34,500 | Total | $5,165,200 |
| Total | $28,796,000 |
Fans were treated to two excellent finals this year, with Williams beating Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (5) and Djokovic edging Murray 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0.
Both winners came into the tournament as the favourites and top seeds, and for good reason. Williams didn't enjoy the best start to the season, but as soon as she found her form in Melbourne, she became close to unstoppable.
Tennis writer Tom Perrotta thinks she used arguably her biggest weapon to devastating effect in 2015:
Williams now has six career Australian Open titles and 19 Grand Slams in total, and as shared by the event's official Twitter feed, even the American star was having difficulty comprehending what a phenomenal achievement that is:
Djokovic didn't have it easy against Murray on Sunday, as the Scot was nothing short of spectacular during the first two sets. The Djoker was forced to wipe out three break points in the third game and nearly lost the first set in a tiebreak, but his opponent missed a routine groundstroke to gift the Serb a set point.
The Scot had Djokovic running in the second set, and after two-and-a-half hours, the duo was tied at one set all. With Djokovic struggling with fatigue, it seemed like Murray's final to lose:
Greatness shines most when faced with adversity, however, as the Djoker won 12 of the last 13 games in a dominant performance, grabbing his fifth Australian Open crown.
Murray and Sharapova both put in excellent tournaments and gave the eventual winners all they could handle in the final, and for their efforts, they'll still bag a cool $1.55 million.
The Australian Open remains a lucrative tournament for anyone who makes the final tableโa first-round singles loss will still net you $34,500. A win in the doubles' tournament comes with a cash price of $575,000, while mixed doubles battle it out for $142,500. Total player compensation sits at a cool $40 million.
As reported by Quartz's Nikhil Sonnad, tennis remains one of the few sports in the world where the prize money is divided equally between the men's and women's tournaments, at least when it comes to the biggest stages. The Australian Open is no exception, as this year's payout proves.
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