| 2011 Australian Open to offer record prize money |
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| Tennis |
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Tuesday, 05 October 2010 10:51
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The men's and women's singles champions will each receive A$2.2 million (US$2.1 million) at next year's tournament in Melbourne. Tournament director Craig Tiley said: "The players come out here and that's really what they deserve." The new prize money up for grabs at the Open compares with US$27.1 million at this year's Wimbledon, US$22.2 million at the French Open and US$22.6 million at the US Open. Rafael Nadal will be attempting to win the "Rafa Slam" having already won this year's Wimbledon, US Open and French Open. The Australian Open will take place from 17 to 30 January. Tournament organisers also announced a ten-year extension of their TV rights deal with sports network ESPN covering North and South America. |
The 2011 Australian Tennis Open will offer a record prize money of A$25 million (US$24 million), which is a 3.8 per cent increase on 2010, it has been announced.
Comments
If only cricket authorities would adopt the same approach - perhaps then we would have 'context' to each test series. And finally some real prize incentives - something other than illegal gains from corruption to motivate those who need more than nationalism to guarantee top performances.
Only when context and highly compelling prize money become annual 'must win' events will cricket move into a new secure sporting space.
When will we see events like a world cricket test championship, with major occasions like the Ashes series as highlights? Until then cricket remains a sport at risk - falling behind those that do manage compelling events attracting such big numbers.
Imagine a player letting down his team for a spot-fix with $25 million at stake?
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