Roland Garros 2022: Prize money increased by nearly 7% compared to pre-pandemic levels, qualifiers and 1R losers to earn more

Roland Garros organizers announced prize money for the 2022 edition of the Paris Major on Wednesday, with the total purse amounting to €43.6 million. It marks a rise of 6.8% compared to what was dished out to the players in 2019, the last year when the tournament was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interestingly, the winners will receive a smaller amount than what they did three years ago. While Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty went home with €2.3 million back then, the winners in 2022 will take home only €2.2 million. The runners-up are guaranteed a haul of €1.1 million.

Overall, the purse for the men's and women's singles categories is up by 1.43% when compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, the doubles purse has been increased by more than 6%. The bulk of the increase in pay, however, has gone towards qualifying and opening-round losers.

In 2019, players who lost in the first, second and third rounds of qualifiers earned €7,000, €12,250 and €24,000 respectively. In 2022, however, they will earn €14,000, €20,000 and €31,000.

The first-round prize money has also risen by €16,000 for each player, as those who lose their opening matches at the 2022 Roland Garros will now receive €62,000 instead of the €46,000 they were given in 2019.

Marginal increase in prize money for first-round losers in doubles at Roland Garros 2022

The 2022 Roland Garros will award almost the same prize to doubles when compared to 2019

In the doubles category, the winners of the 2022 Roland Garros will not see any difference in prize money when compared to the 2019 edition -- €580,000. The runners-up, semifinalists and quarterfinalists will also earn the same amount they did before the advent of the pandemic.

The first-round losers, however, will receive €4,000 more -- €15,500 in 2022 compared to €11,500 in 2019. Those who exit in the second round this year will earn €2,000 more (€25,000 vs €23,000), while players who fall in the third round will go home with €500 less (€42,000 vs €42,500).

Mixed doubles players are expected to receive the exact same amount as in 2019 -- €122,000 for winners all the way down to €5,000 for first-round losers.

The defending champions at the French Open in 2022 are as follows: Novak Djokovic (men's singles), Barbora Krejcikova (women's singles), Pierre-Hugues Herbert-Nicolas Mahut (men's doubles), Barbora Krejcikova-Katerina Siniakova (women's doubles) and Desirae Krawczyk-Joe Salisbury (mixed doubles).