MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Open organizers have increased the prize money by 10 percent in local currency for the first tennis Grand Slam tournament of the year to offset a drop in the Australian dollar.
Tournament director Craig Tiley says the total prize money for the Jan. 14-27 tournament next year will be 60.5 million Australian dollars ($43 million). The total was A$55 million for the 2018 event, although the Australian dollar has dropped from 81 to 71 cents in exchange rates against the U.S. dollar in the meantime.
The allocation of the increased prizemoney has yet to be decided but will be distributed evenly between the men's and women's draws.
Matches on all courts at the Australian Open will have electronic line-judging for the first time and a 25 second "serve clock" to avoid time wasting.
