The high-demanding ATP and WTA circuit is headed to Asia for its year-end China Open. A mere weeks after the US Open and the Davis Cup ended, high-profile players from across the world will battle it out to gain supremacy and a healthy paycheck too.
The China Open is a hardcourt event that has been conceptualized as an ATP 500 and a WTA 1000 tournament. It is in its 22nd edition for men and its 24th edition for women. The women would gain a mammoth tally of points as compared to the men, with a record-breaking cash prize.
China Open: prize pool, payouts
The men’s event at the China Open has an overall prize pool of $3,633,875, a rise of 3.38% from 2019. The 2023 champion will receive $679,550, a -7.4% decrease from what Dominic Thiem attained four years earlier. The runner-up will take home $365,640, a 0.3% increase from what Stefanos Tsitsipas received after his defeat to Thiem.
Semifinalists will earn $194,860, and quarterfinalists will add $99,560 to their bank. Players who are ousted in the first round of qualifying receive $8,150, which is a whopping 58.6% increase from 2019.
For the ATP 500 doubles, the victors will receive $223,210, while their opponents in the final will get $119,050. The lowest payout is $15,590 for the duo who exited in round 1.
The WTA Beijing 1000 China Open prize purse has broken records after becoming the biggest WTA event in the season. The prize pool is $8,127,389, which is a decrease of $100,000 from the prize money in 2019. The prize money for each round of the women’s division hasn’t been revealed at the moment.
The winner of the WTA China Open will get around $1,523,265, which is exactly the same that Naomi Osaka received in 2019. The doubles event follows the same pattern, with the winner’s payout being around $515,355, which was the same that Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands got in 2019.
China Open schedule
The 2023 China Open will feature some of the biggest names in tennis, like Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev.
For the women’s tournament, familiar faces will be present, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina.
The ATP 500 event begins on September 26 and ends on October 4th. The singles event kicks off on September 28th and ends on October 4th.
The WTA 1000 event starts a little later, on September 29th. It runs through October 8th. The main draw begins on October 1, after the qualifying rounds have concluded.
The matches are scheduled to begin as early as 11 a.m. (China time), and the final begins at 5 p.m.
Is the China Open a sign of the deserved credit that is due to women in tennis through its bigger payouts and higher points gained? Let us know in the comments section below.
