Australian Open increments the prize money

The Australian major tournament held annually in the city of Melbourne has revised their prize money amount. The amount of  AUD $60.5 million will be the prize money pool in 2019. Additionally, the dedication and the perseverance players at all levels will be suitably rewarded. Apart from the prize money sector, numerous another will be made in the Australian Open tournament.

Firstly, the 25-second Serve Clock will be there for all main draw matches. The Electronic Review System will be present on all 16 match courts. The Heat Stress Index would replace the Extreme Heat Policy. The Australian Open qualifying draw for women will be increased to 128 players from 96. The qualifying tournament will start a day earlier, on Tuesday 8 January. The trial of on-court coaching in qualifying and juniors will be continued. The Tie Break Tens will return to MCA on Wednesday 9 January. The high-profile practice matches to be held at MCA on each day of qualifying.

The Australian Open Tournament Director, Craig Tiley has spoken about the changes made in the tournament. “We’ve always prided ourselves on listening to the players, and this year we’ve taken our consultation to a whole new level,” said the director. “Our team has spent a lot of time this year talking to players, coaches and their teams about what’s important to them, what they like and what changes they want to see.

“From these discussions, held at tournaments around the world, we’ve come up with some changes we know the players want, including the Serve Clock and Electronic Review on all match courts, making conditions more consistent across the precinct. Tiley added. “We’ve increased the women’s qualifying draw to 128, in line with the men’s qualifying, removing what was really a historical anomaly, and we’re starting qualifying a day earlier”.

“The 25-second Serve Clock will be introduced for all matches – we know there’s a move to speed up play and we’ll continue to work with the players on the best ways to do this. Coaching is an issue we’ve all spoken a lot about over the past couple of months, which is good”

Tiley also addressed the on-court coaching point. “As a sport, tennis needs to decide the best way forward. We’ll continue the on-court coaching trial during qualifying – for both men and women – as we progress discussions with the many stakeholders involved. The sport needs to have a consistent approach to all issues around coaching”.