5 Biggest Paychecks Rafael Nadal Has Earned From Australian Open in His 20-Year Career

In his latest Instagram post, Rafael Nadal updated fans about his return. He posted a video of him training on the court and said he is working hard for to make it to the Australian Open 2024. Recently, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said Nadal will feature in the tournament. The Spaniard also acknowledged and appreciated Tiley’s vote of confidence in his post.

The Australian Open is where Nadal has struggled the most to win. He had only one title until adding a second only in 2022. Regardless, throughout his long career, he has gone deep into the tournament many times and considering those instances, he has accumulated an estimated $7.23 million USD in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Even if other years are taken into account, it would represent only a small chunk of Nadal’s career prize money earnings of $134,640,719 assuming that the value would go beyond $10 million USD. On that note, here is a look at the five biggest pay-outs Nadal has received from the Australian Open (all amounts in AUD via the official ATP website) –

5. Rafael Nadal won A$1.3 million from the 2014 Australian Open final

Nadal entered the 2014 Australian Open after two years, having skipped the Grand Slam event in 2013. He faced a tough draw upon his return, coming up against seeded opponents from the third round, where he defeated Gael Monfils. He then beat Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov to set up a blockbuster semi-final against Roger Federer. Nadal got the best of his rival in straight sets, instantly becoming a favourite to lift his second Australian Open trophy.

Federer’s compatriot, Stan Wawrinka, however, had different plans. The Swiss defeated then-World No.1 Nadal 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 to lift the first of his three Grand Slams. For his runner-up finish, Nadal went home with A$1,325,000 (approximately $1.19 million USD at the time) while the champion bagged A$2.65 million.

4. Nadal took home A$1.8 million in 2017 Australian Open

Having struggled with form and injury for a couple of years, Rafael Nadal was ranked 9th going into the 2017 Australian Open. But he struck a rich vein of form in 2017, downing formidable opponents. Nadal once again crossed paths with then-World No.6 Monfils and Dimitrov in the RO16 and semi-finals, respectively. He beat World No.3 Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals in straight sets.

This led to a classic ‘Fedal’ showdown in the final. Federer was ranked even lower than Nadal, entering the tournament as World No.17. The Swiss legend, though, outlasted his opponent in a thrilling five-set final. Nadal lost 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 to go home with the runner-up prize money worth A$1,850,000 (an estimated worth $1.33 million USD in 2017) as Federer bagged a cool A$3,700,000. This was Nadal’s biggest Grand Slam paycheck in two-and-half years, as he had last reached a final at the 2014 French Open.

3. Nadal earned A$2 million for winning 2009 Australian Open

A 22-year-old World No.1 Rafael Nadal won his maiden Australian Open title in 2009. It was his sixth Grand Slam title overall, after four French Opens and one Wimbledon, thus being his first-ever hard court Slam title. He reached the semi-finals without dropping a set but compatriot Fernando Verdasco proved to be a tough nut to crack in the final four. The two Spaniards played an epic five-setter that went on for over five hours as Nadal triumphed 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (1-7), 6-4 to reach his first AO final.

Nadal played another gruelling five-set match in the final against Federer. After battling for nearly four-and-half hours, he defeated Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2 to claim the A$2,000,000 payout (which was back then worth $1.16 million USD). This was the first time in the event’s history that the winner’s cash reward hit the 2 million mark.

2. Nadal settled for slightly over A$2 million after the 2019 AO Final

Rafael Nadal blew his opponents away en route to the 2019 Australian Open final. He did not drop a single set throughout the tournament, earning yet another shot at bagging his second title in Melbourne. Here, he ran into the event’s poster boy, Novak Djokovic.

Just as Nadal had dispatched his opponents so far, Djokovic flipped the script to dominate him in the final. The current World No.1 beat him in straight sets, winning 3-6, 2-6, 3-6 to deny the Spaniard his second Australian Open yet again. This was Nadal’s fourth runner-up finish in the Grand Slam Down Under in the 10 years after his first Australian Open title in 2009. For his efforts, he received an A$2,050,000 paycheck (approximately $1.48 million USD back in 2019) while Djokovic got richer by a whopping A$4,100,000.

1. Rafael Nadal bagged a reduced A$2.8 million for 2022 Australian Open title

In a tournament clouded by Novak Djokovic’s visa and anti-vaccination fiasco, Rafael Nadal came in seeded sixth. Tied with the Serb and Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles, this was a golden opportunity for him to pull ahead, with both his rivals absent. After a breezy start, Rafael Nadal was posed a challenge by Denis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals. After five intense sets, he defeated the Canadian and moved on to the final four.

Defeating Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals, Rafael Nadal came up against #2 seed Daniil Medvedev in the final. The Russian won the first two sets and looked set to bag his second Grand Slam title. However, the 35-year-old Nadal stepped up his game and roared back with a bang to take the next three sets. He won the match 2-6, 6-7 (7-5),  6-4, 7-5 to finally lift the elusive second Australian Open title. He went ahead of his Big 3 rivals on the all-time list with 21 Majors.

However, the prize purse of tournaments took a hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Open was not spared as well. Hence, Rafael Nadal took home only A$2,875,000 (which was USD $2.07 million in 2022). For context, the winner’s award for the 2020 edition, held before the outbreak, was A$4,120,000.