Say what?! The prize money Alcaraz and Swiatek took home at the French Open

Carlos Alcaraz wrote history at the French Open by winning his first ever title on Parisian clay. In doing so, the young Spaniard joined an exclusive club of tennis legends.

Winning the French Grand Slam earns Alcaraz 2,000 ATP ranking points, the prestige of making the exclusive list of winners and, lest anyone forget, an overwhelming cash prize.

In addition to the Musketeers' Trophy, the young Spaniard will also take home a cheque of €2.4 million (£2.03m/$2.58m) as confirmed by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), which has awarded around €53.5 million (£45.23/$57.51m) at the 50th edition of the French Open.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

The same amount of money was awarded to women's champion Iga Swiatek a day earlier. The reigning dominating player on the women's tour has won four of the last five French Open tournaments, but it is at the 2024 edition that she has taken home the most prize money: €2.4 million (£2.03 million/$2.58 million).

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Jasmine Paolini, this year's losing finalists, take home half as much as their rivals: €1.2 million euros (£1.01m/$1.29m).

Zverev lost to an irregular but determined Alcaraz by 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1 and 6-2, in 4 hours and 19 minutes. Meanwhile, Paolini was swept aside by Swiatek with a resounding 6-2, 6-1.

Back to the prize money, the semi-finalists got €650,000 (£549,994/$698,954), compared to €415,000 (£351,150/$446,255) for the quarter-finalists and a remarkable €250,000 (£211,536/$268,828) for those who reached the round of 16.

Of the players who lost in the first three rounds, the compensation was €73,000 (£61,768/$78,475), a significant increase of more than 20 per cent over the 2023 payout, as the ATP said before the tournament, in an attempt to ensure fairness among all participants.

With this win, Carlos Alcaraz surpassed $30 million (€27.89m/£23.60m) in prize money since he became a professional tennis player, all at the age of 21.

Interestingly, women's world No. 1 Iga Swiatek surpasses Alcaraz in career prize money earnings as, according to the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), she has already surpassed $31 million (€28.82m/£24.38m).

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!