Former World No. 1 Rohan Bopanna and his Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos were ousted in the opening round of the ongoing Australian Open 2025 on Tuesday (Jan 14). But, despite his early exit, India's double ace player earned a prize money of $40,000.
Rohan won the Australian Open doubles title in 2024 with his former partner Matthew Ebden. Rohan and Ebden had a successful two-year partnership.
Meanwhile, Sumit Nagal, the sole Indian singles tennis player, also crashed out in the first round of the men's singles event, earning a prize money of $132,000. The 27-year-old, seeded 91st in the ATP Rankings for singles, lost to his world No. 25 opponent 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in a battle that lasted nearly two hours.
In 2023, Sumit Nagal spoke about having left with less than $1,000 (approximately) in his bank account. Sumit said that he had to invest all his prize money, salary and the support he gets from the Maha Tennis Foundation to keep his ATP tour going.
The semi-finalists and quarter-finalists will get $1,100,000 and $665,000 respectively. Players who will exit Round of 16 and Round of 32 will get $420,000 and $290,000 respectively.
Also Read: Australian Open 2025: Rohan Bopanna fails to replicate 2024 success
Djokovic advances to the next round
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic beat Portugal's Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 and 6-2 to progress into the next round. The thrilling match lasted exactly three hours. The 10-time Australian Open champion had a hard-fought win against USA's Nishesh Basavareddy in his first round. Djokovic won the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and 6-2 in his quest for the record 25th Grand Slam.
Zheng Qinwen knocked out
Last year’s Australian Open women’s singles runner-up Zheng Qinwen faced a shock exit after she was dumped out by Laura Siegemund. The Chinese star lost in straight sets 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, being the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Siegemund is the second oldest player in the draw and is ranked 97 in the world.