Australian Open Boosts Prize Money To Record $32.6M To Offset Slide Of Australian Dollar

The Australian Open "will lift prize money" for this month’s Grand Slam tennis championship by 21% to a record A40M ($32.6M) "partly to offset a slide in value of the Australian currency," according to Danielle Rossingh of BLOOMBERG. The singles champions will get A$3.1M each, while a first-round loss will be rewarded with $34,500. Organizers said that the tournament "wanted to ensure the gains made in player compensation were not eroded by the weaker Australian dollar." Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said that "prize money was also boosted to help players on the bottom rungs of the sport" (BLOOMBERG, 1/9). REUTERS' Amlan Chakraborty repoted the decision means prize money "has effectively doubled" since A$20M was offered in '07. TA President Steve Healy: "We have done a lot of work within our business to position ourselves to make this critical investment in the players and for the long term future of the Australian Open" (REUTERS, 1/9).