France without Nadal to win 49.6 million euros
Legendary Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal will not be able to take the court in the French Open Tennis Tournament, which he has won 14 times, for 19 years due to injury. The biggest candidates for his championship in 2023 are Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Roland Garros, one of the four most important tournaments of the tennis season with the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, will be played for the 122nd time this year between May 28 and June 11. 36-year-old Nadal, whose statue is located in the campus that hosts the French Open, has not been able to play tennis for over 4 months due to an injury in his left hip. In addition to Nadal, Matteo Berrettini, Pablo Carreno Busta, Marin Cilic and Nick Kyrgios in the men's category and Paula Badosa in the women's category will not be able to compete in the French Open due to injury. In Nadal's absence, the favorites of the tournament are Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Spanish Alcaraz became the youngest male tennis player to reach No. 1 in the world rankings by winning the first grand slam title of his career at the 2022 US Open. Winning the important clay court tournaments of this year, the Barcelona Open and the Madrid Masters, Alcaraz will face tough opponents such as Novak Djokovic, who has two trophies at Roland Garros, as well as Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, and Andrey Rublev. Iga Swiatek, who has been at the top of the women's world rankings since April of last year, and Aryna Sabalenka, who rose to No. 2 in the rankings after winning the first grand slam title of her career at the 2023 Australian Open, will take to the court for both the trophy and the No. 1 title. The total prize money distributed at the 2023 French Open increased by 12.3 percent compared to last year, reaching 49.6 million euros. The women's and men's singles champions, who were given 2.2 million euros last year, will receive 2.3 million euros in prize money in 2023.