The Australian Open prize fund has been raised by 13% to A$86.5m ($59.04m, £46.3m) for the 2024 edition with the greatest percentage increases going to those playing in earlier rounds and qualifiers.
The rise means the prize pot at the Melbourne Park Grand Slam has more than doubled over the last decade but the cash is now far more evenly distributed.
“We’ve upped prize money for every round at the Australian Open with the major increases in qualifying and the early rounds of singles and doubles,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a news release.
“We want to ensure Australia remains the launchpad for the global tennis season and the players and their teams have everything they need to help them perform at their best and continue to enjoy the Happy Slam.”
The two singles champions will each pocket A$3.15m (£1.7m), which is more than a million dollars less than Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin received for winning the titles at the last pre-Covid tournament in 2020.
First-round losers, however, will be rewarded for making the trip Down Under with a cheque for A$120,000 (£64,000), A$30,000 more than they would have received in 2020.
Players who play in the first round of qualifying in January will receive A$31,250 (£16,700) - 20% more than they would have earned at this year’s tournament.
The U.S. Open was the richest of the Grand Slams this year with a prize fund of $65m, while Wimbledon offered a total of £44.7 ($56.92m) and the French Open €49.6m ($54.89m).
The Australian Open main draw action starts a day earlier than usual on 14 January next year with the men’s singles final rounding out the tournament on 28 January.
Karolina Muchova, meanwhile, has pulled out of the Australian Open with a niggling wrist injury that also ruled her out of the WTA Finals in October, the world number eight said.
The 27-year-old Czech enjoyed one of her best seasons this year and finished runner-up to the top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the French Open before a run to the U.S. Open semi-finals in September, where she suffered the right wrist issue.
She was set to compete in the season-ending championships in Cancun for the first time before pulling out and being replaced by Maria Sakkari.
“This isn’t my favourite thing to share especially at the start of a new season, but unfortunately the pain in the wrist came back in the middle of my preparation,” former Melbourne Park semi-finalist Muchova said on Instagram on Thursday.
“I therefore have to postpone the start of the season and fully heal my wrist first. It’s frustrating but I have to keep positive, recover and get ready for the rest of the year.”
