Tennis Australia Increases Australian Open Prize Money

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 2nd October 2013

Tennis Australia Increases Australian Open Prize Money

epa02571952 A close-up view of a ball and racket seen at the Gaz de France WTA Open 2011 tennis tournament in Paris, France, 09 February 2011. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

The rich will get richer at the Australian Open as the first grand slam event of 2014 announced another $A 3 million ($2.82 million) prize money increase on top of $A 4 million ($3.76 million) increase laid only a year earlier. But the roughly ten per cent decline over the past year in the Australian dollar versus the US may eventually cut the actual amount when converted.

The Melbourne money machine has helped to spark the current financial bidding war between the four majors as the rich get richer in the world of ATP and WTA players. With the trend to increase the payment level for early round losers, Melbourne officials have yet to decide exactly what their ratio will be. “We will sit down with the women’s tour and the men’s tour and make a decision as to what that distribution should look like,” said tournament director Craig Tiley.

“We said it last year and we still believe it … these incredible athletes deserve every cent and we will continue to do everything in our power to make the life of an international professional tennis player more worthwhile. The Slams have led the way, but the entire tennis fraternity still isn’t there yet,” added Tiley, now also the new CEO of Tennis Australia.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Australian Open, Craig Tiley, Grand Slam, Tennis, Tennis News