Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Monday, January 19, 2026, 1:47 p.m. / Updated Monday, January 19, 2026 1:47 p.m.
The remarkable situation before the first round of the Australian Open causes misunderstandings. One of the tennis players, Arthur Cazaux (23 years old, 67th ATP), withdrew at the last minute, but this does not mean that he goes home empty-handed, receiving a part of the money, as he announced his withdrawal only AFTER the schedule of the 1st round was set.
The situation has even reached the attention of other sports, and former hockey players Ellen Hoog and Naomi van As analyzed the context, which they do not understand.
“We have a player who has retired and, unbelievably, he is getting paid!”, Van As said in the weekly sportnieuws.nl podcast. “You get half of what you would normally get if you play the first round. That's what happens if you withdraw after the schedule of matches has been announced. It's not normal…” she continued.
Even her former teammate Hoog can't believe such a thing is true. “Yes, €40,000. He had an elbow injury, waited until the program was announced to withdraw and got €40,000. Clever.”
The case of Arthur Cazaux is puzzling
Arthur Cazaux left the Australian Open with 40,000 euros, without playing // photo: Imago
The two analyzed the situation of the French tennis player Arthur Cazaux. In 2024, in Melbourne, he reached the round of 16, but for this edition he withdrew a few hours before the start of the first round match. In early January, at the Brisbane tournament, he had to retire in the second round due to elbow problems.
“It's pretty ugly, actually.” says Van As. Hoog. “It's a very strange rule.” Her partner completely agreed: “You know you're not going to play, but you wait until the schedule is announced…”. Hoog added: “That's what we think, of course, that's what he did.”
Alexander Blockx also took advantage of Arthur Cazaux's withdrawal
Cazaux's withdrawal was also good news for Alexander Blockx. The Belgian lost in the third round of qualifying but still received a late call to be told he could enter the field, taking advantage of Arthur Cazaux's withdrawal.
However, it was not a great success: the Portuguese Jaime Faria was too strong and broke the fight in four sets. The 20-year-old world number 96 went home with almost 86,000 euros, slightly more than double the amount received by the player who retired in the last hundred meters.
