The Australian Open could top A$50M ($34M) in prizemoney next year "as officials seek to reward the world’s best players for the tournament’s stunning growth," according to Leo Schlink of the HERALD SUN.
Open officials "were tight-lipped on speculation prizemoney is to climb significantly as thousands of spectators flocked to Melbourne Park on Monday." The proposal to increase prizemoney from this year’s record purse of A$44M ($30M) "was raised at meeting with players at a city hotel."
Tournament Dir Craig Tiley said, "I don’t think we are ready to talk about such things publicly yet. We still have a bit of work to do in terms of our planning for next year." With this year’s singles champions to earn A$3.4M ($2.3M) each, the tournament’s prize pool has ballooned by A$25M ($17M) since the '05 centenary tournament.
And "it appears the upward pattern is set to continue as the Open cements its reputation as the most player friendly of the four grand slams."
Every player at the tournament receives a A$2,500 ($1,700) "travel voucher, free accommodation, free stringing and meals on-site." Tiley: "Our aim many years ago was to remove all of their costs, pay them what they truly deserve, create an incredibly professional but also fun playing environment and then let them do what they do best" (HERALD SUN, 1/18).
