How much money did Aryna Sabalenka win after the Australian Open 2024?

Sabalenka's successful title defense at the 2024 Australian Open sees her add another couple of millions to her career prize money.

How much money did Aryna Sabalenka win after the Australian Open 2024?

Aryna Sabalenka poses with her Australian Open trophy in the Champion's photoshoot (Credits: WTA)

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka continued to stamp her authority at the Melbourne Park. Playing as the defending champion at the 2024 Australian Open, she successfully defended her title defeating Qinwen Zheng in the finals.

Sabalenka won the tie 6-3, 6-2 to win her second career Major title. The former World No. 1 did not concede a single set throughout the fortnight, in one of the rarest feats at the Grand Slam events.

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Zheng was looking to replicate her idol, Li Na, by winning the Melbourne Major. But the nerves of playing in her maiden Grand Slam finals got the better of her. She did not, however, lose courage and put on a brave face during the trophy ceremony, too.

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The win makes Sabalenka only the second woman in a decade to defend their Australian Open title. The last person to do so was her compatriot and tour veteran Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka achieved the feat in 2012 and 2013.

Aryna Sabalenka first woman to win AUD 3 million at the Australian Open

Like all Grand Slam events, the Australian Open has been working towards paying more in the early rounds to support the lower-ranked players. It is one of the highest-paying tournaments during the season. The tournament continued working towards increasing the prize money pool this year as well.

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka kisses the 2024 Australian Open trophy (Credits: The Hindu)

The organizers increased the total prize money by 13.07% with the first-round losers getting 12.94% more than 2023. This raised the total pool for this year’s event to AUD 86.5 million (est. USD 57.06 million).

Sabalenka took home the check signed for AUD 3,150,000 or USD 2,130,975. In comparison, it was slightly more than the AUD 2,975,000 check awarded to her for winning the Major last year.

Zheng earned AUD 1,725,000 or USD 1,166,963, the biggest prize money check of her young career. This was also a significant rise from AUD 1,625,000, the amount won by former Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina who finished runner-up in 2023.

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