Cincinnati Masters Slashes Prize Money Pool By $1.8M But Some Will Still Be Better Off

The winner of this year’s Cincinnati Masters will get 75% less than what the 2019 champion won as part of a significant overhaul in prize money.

Organizers at the Western and Southern Open have confirmed that the total payable to male players taking part in the tournament will amount to $4.2M (including qualifiers). Working out at almost a 30% drop compared to last year’s pool of $6M. The reason for the drop is due to the economical impact of COVID-19, which has brought tennis to a standstill since March. Various tournaments have been cancelled due to the pandemic, including the Citi Open in Washington which was set to take place prior to Cincinnati.

Despite the drop in funds, some players will still earn more than they did at the event last year. The financial incentives on offer in qualifying, as well as the first two rounds of the main draw, are more than 12 months ago. However, further on in the tournament the disparity widens significantly. This year’s champion will take home just $285,000. To put this into perspective Daniil Medvedev won the title and exit the event with winnings of $1,114,225 in 2019. No changes have been made to the ranking points on offer per round.

There is yet to be an official breakdown of what will be offered to women’s players, but it is expected that those who go deep in the tournament will also get a substantial cut in pay.

This year’s Western and Southern Open have been relocated to the same venue as the US Open in New York due to the pandemic. The move was designed to minimise players having to travel and keep them essentially in a ‘bubble’ with strict COVID-19 measures in place.

“The USTA will create a safe and controlled environment for players and everyone else involved in both tournaments that mitigates health risks that was approved by the State of New York and also conforms to the standards put forth by New York City and the federal government,” the USTA said in a statement following the Cancellation of Washington.
“We constantly base our decisions regarding hosting these tournaments on our three guiding principles that include safety and health of all involved, whether hosting these events are in the best interest in the sport of tennis and whether this decision is financially viable. We are confident we remain in-line with all three guiding principles.”

The Western and Southern Open will be the first men’s tournament to take place in the revised ATP Calendar. It will start on August 22nd which is a week before the US Open.

Cincinnati Prize money breakdown

SOURCE: ATP release