Australian Open prize pool hits $49m
MELBOURNE: The prize pool for the 2020 Australian Open has been boosted by 14 per cent to A$71 million (US$49.1 million), organisers said on Tuesday, with the biggest gains for players exiting in the early rounds.
Players losing in the first round of qualifying at the year’s first Grand Slam will take home A$20,000, up by a third from last year, while singles players who exit in the first round of the main draw will earn A$90,000, a jump of 20 per cent. Before the start of the 2018 Australian Open, Serbian champion Novak Djokovic had to distance himself from media reports that he had pushed for a revolt over the way revenues from the four Grand Slams were distributed to help reward a larger group of players.
“We have long been committed to improving the pay and conditions for a deeper pool of international tennis players,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement, noting that overall prize money has more than tripled since 2007. “This year ... we pushed to reward players competing early in the tournament in both singles and doubles.”
The 2020 women’s and men’s singles champions will receive smaller increases in prize money, with both winners taking home A$4.12 million, up $20,000.
Players can usually secure a main draw appearance in the tournament, which starts on Jan. 20, by having a ranking in the top 100. Naomi Osaka of Japan is the reigning women’s singles champion at the Australian Open while Djokovic claimed a record seventh title by defeating great rival Rafa Nadal in the 2019 final.
In a report last year, an International Review Panel commissioned to address betting-related and other integrity issues said that players in the lowest tiers were susceptible to being corrupted because of the difficulty of making a living, with only 250-350 players earning enough money to break even. The International Tennis Federation last week announced a series of measures as part of its fight against corruption in the sport’s lower levels.
CLIJSTERS COMEBACK
BRUSSELS: Kim Clijsters, who retired for a second time in 2011, confirmed on Monday that she was making a comeback starting in Mexico in March.
“A few more weeks of patience and I’ll be ready to go,” the Belgian four-time major winner said in a video posted on social media. “The absence has been long enough.” Clijsters first retired in
May 2007, before returning in August 2009 after giving birth to her first child. The 36-year-old originally planned to return to competition in time to play in January at the Australian Open, a Grand Slam she won in 2011. But she was held up by a knee injury.
She said on Monday that the problem “wasn’t fully healed yet” but in “a few more weeks... I’ll be ready to go”. Clijsters indicated that she planned to return in Monterrey (March 2-8) and then play Indian Wells (March 11-22) and Charleston (April 4-12). Clijsters has twice won the Indian Wells tournament (2003 and 2005).