Australian Open - Australian Open prize money increased

Eurosport - Sat, 10 Jan 14:24:00 2009

The prize money for the Australian Open has been upped to £10.3 million, an increase of 12.3 per cent on last year, with the bulk going to the singles finalists.

TENNIS - Melbourne, Australian Open - 0

Both singles champions will receive a record £927,000 while the runners-up will each pocket £465,000m.

"We believe that £927,000 is an appropriate reward for winning the biggest sporting event in the world in January," Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said in a statement on Saturday.

Organisers had already announced in October they were lifting the first prize amounts from £635,000 to £751,000 but decided to raise it to counter the drop in exchange rates.

"We announced a prize money increase in October for the same reason - to further enhance the status of the Grand Slam of (the) Asia Pacific (region)," Wood said.

"I also said at the time that we would monitor the exchange rate and review the situation closer to the event.

"We have done that and today's announcement is the end result."

The Australian Open will be held at Melbourne Park from January 19 to February 1.

Reuters

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  1. I was curious as to how other people feel about the fact that the women and men singles get the same prize money?

    First of all, I do not think the quality and level of the tennis is even close to the same level or standard.

    Secondly, effectively, the women actually get paid more than the men if you take into consideration that the women play 33 to 40 percent less tennis (2 or 3 sets versus the men's 3 to 5 sets per match).

    I am not a male chauvinist - I seriously think very highly of women and should I have my choice, I would prefer women to fill all central en local govermant positions, many more senior educational and way more business executive positions as I think they are generally more trustworthy, honest and have higher moral standards.

    Sincerely,
    Me.

    From ChristoL, on Fri 13 Feb 1:32AM
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