At the 2026 French Open, total prize money hit a record €61,723,000 (a 9.53% increase from 2025). France levies a flat 15% withholding tax at the source on prize money earned by non-resident professional athletes.

The table below shows the gross prize money, the 15% French tax deduction, and the estimated net payout received by the champions and runners-up in the senior singles and doubles categories:

Event & Position	Gross Prize Money (EUR)	French Withholding Tax (15%)	Estimated Net Payout (EUR)
Singles Champion (Men’s & Women’s)	€2,800,000	€420,000	€2,380,000
Singles Runner-up (Men’s & Women’s)	€1,400,000	€210,000	€1,190,000
Doubles Champions (Per Team)	€600,000	€90,000	€510,000 (€255,000 each)
Doubles Runners-up (Per Team)	€300,000	€45,000	€255,000 (€127,500 each)
Mixed Doubles Champions (Per Team)	€122,000	€18,300	€103,700 (€51,850 each)
Mixed Doubles Runners-up (Per Team)	€61,000	€9,150	€51,850 (€25,925 each)

Explaining French Tennis Taxation

• The 15% Source Tax: Under French tax law (and aligned with Article 17 of the OECD model tax treaty), sports prize money earned on French territory by non-resident athletes is subject to an immediate withholding tax of 15%. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) automatically subtracts this amount before sending the money to the player’s bank account.
• Double Taxation Treaties: This 15% cut is often not the final tax. Because most players are not French citizens, they must report this income to their home countries. Fortunately, international tax treaties usually provide a Foreign Tax Credit. This means if a player owes taxes at home, they can subtract the 15% they already paid to France, preventing them from paying taxes twice on the same money.

The True Cost of Winning: Tax and Net Payouts at Roland-Garros 2026

When a tennis player wins the final point at Roland-Garros, they fall to the red clay in pure joy. They celebrate a lifetime of hard work. They kiss the famous trophies. They also earn some of the biggest paychecks in professional sports. For the 2026 French Open, tournament organizers raised the total prize money to an all-time high of €61,723,000. This is a massive 9.53% increase from the previous year.

However, what a player wins on paper is not what they actually take home. Before the giant checks are handed over, the French government steps in. Just like everyday workers, professional tennis stars must pay taxes on the money they earn. For international athletes traveling to Paris, understanding the local tax rules is a big part of the business of tennis.

The Big Prize Money Numbers for 2026

Roland-Garros is famous for treating men and women equally when it comes to financial rewards. This tradition continued in 2026. The champions of the men’s and women’s singles events each earned a gross payout of €2,800,000. The runners-up, who fought hard but lost the final match, received €1,400,000.

In the doubles events, the rewards are also substantial, though the money is awarded per team rather than per player. The winning men’s and women’s doubles teams earned €600,000, which means each player gets €300,000. The second-place teams earned €300,000, which splits evenly into €150,000 per athlete.

While these numbers look amazing on the stadium scoreboard, the financial reality changes quickly behind the scenes.

How France Taxes Foreign Athletes

France has strict rules about money earned within its borders by people who do not live there. For international sports stars, musicians, and entertainers, the French tax system uses a specific mechanism called a withholding tax.

For non-resident athletes playing at tournaments like Roland-Garros, France applies a flat 15% tax rate directly to their prize money. The process is automatic. The French Tennis Federation calculates 15% of the player’s prize money, takes it out immediately, and sends it to the French tax office. The player never even sees this portion of their earnings.

Let us look closely at how this 15% rule changes the final payouts for the 2026 senior event finalists.

The Singles Champions

A singles champion in 2026 earns a gross amount of €2,800,000.

• 15% of this prize equals €420,000.
• After the French government takes its share, the net payout left for the champion is €2,380,000.

The Singles Runners-up

The player who finishes in second place gets a gross amount of €1,400,000.

• The 15% withholding tax cuts €210,000 from this check.
• This leaves the runner-up with a net total of €1,190,000.

The Doubles Champions

The winning doubles team shares a gross prize of €600,000.

• The total tax taken from the team is €90,000.
• The remaining net payout is €510,000, giving each player €255,000 after French taxes.

The Doubles Runners-up

The finalist doubles team earns a gross prize of €300,000.

• The French tax office takes €45,000 at the source.
• The team splits the remaining net payout of €255,000, which leaves each player with €127,500.

The Mystery of the Final Tax Bill: What Happens Next?

Many people believe that a 15% tax rate sounds quite low, especially since high earners in Europe often pay over 40% in income tax. However, the 15% French withholding tax is just the first step of a longer financial journey. What happens next depends heavily on where the player officially lives.

Tax Treaties and Double Taxation

Most professional tennis players do not live in France. They come from the United States, Australia, Czechia, Germany, or other parts of the world. Because of this, they have to pay taxes to their home governments on all the money they earn globally.

To prevent players from paying full taxes twice on the same money, countries use agreements called double taxation treaties. Under these treaties, the player’s home country will usually grant them a “Foreign Tax Credit.”

How it works: If a player from the United States wins Roland-Garros, they must report their €2,800,000 prize to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If the US tax rate for that income is 37%, the player would normally owe a large sum to the IRS. However, because of the tax treaty, the player can show that they already paid 15% to France. The US government will then subtract that 15% from the final American tax bill.

The Tax Haven Advantage

Because tennis players are independent contractors who travel the world, choosing where to live is a critical business decision. Many top tennis stars choose to reside in places known as tax havens. Popular choices include Monte Carlo (Monaco), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), or certain parts of Switzerland.

If a player legally lives in Monaco, they do not pay personal income tax to the local government. For these players, the 15% taken by France at Roland-Garros is often the only income tax they will pay on that specific prize money. This makes living in a tax haven incredibly profitable for elite athletes.

Hidden Expenses: The Costs Fans Do Not See

It is also important to remember that net prize money is not pure profit. Professional tennis players operate like small businesses, and traveling the global tour is highly expensive.

Before a player can pocket their net earnings from Roland-Garros, they must pay for a variety of professional expenses:

• Coaching Staff: Elite players travel with a head coach, a fitness trainer, and sometimes a physiotherapist. These staff members require salaries, flights, hotel rooms, and daily meals.
• Travel and Lodging: While tournament organizers provide some hospitality, players often rent private houses or premium hotel suites in Paris for their entire team during the two-week event.
• Agent Fees: Sports agents and management companies typically take a percentage (often 10% to 20%) of off-court endorsement deals, and sometimes a fee for managing logistics.

When you subtract the 15% French tax, the additional taxes owed back home, and the massive costs of running a professional tennis team, a player might walk away with less than half of their original gross prize money.

Conclusion

The record-breaking €61.7 million prize pool at Roland-Garros in 2026 shows that professional tennis is healthier and more lucrative than ever. Earning €2,800,000 for two weeks of work on the clay courts of Paris is an extraordinary achievement.

Yet, the numbers remind us that even sports heroes cannot escape the realities of global finance. The automatic 15% reduction on every paycheck is a mandatory contribution to the French republic. For the champions, leaving Paris with a net payout of €2,380,000 and a historic trophy is still a dream come true—even if the tax collector took a hefty bite out of the prize.