Australian Open 2013

Tennis Australia this week announced some stunning initiatives for the 2013 Australian Open including a record increase in the prize money to $31.1 million. Speaking at the launch of the Australian Open, Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood announced a $4.15 million increase in the prize money on offer making this the richest Australian Open in history. The increase came in response to talk of a possible boycott of the event by players who were concerned over the funding. Wood said the increase was an example of the Australian Open making more major contributions to the well being of the players. The increase is the biggest from one year to another but it has yet to be revealed how the increase will be distributed.
Wood said that talks would take place with the ATP Players Council to discuss how to evenly share the prize money but I would imagine that a lot of the increase will go towards players who lose in the earlier rounds. Tournament Director Craig Tiley said that they were proud to get the record prize money and that they were looking after the lower ranked players who were seeking compensation for their efforts. It has been an issue for quite some time that players who regularly lost in the opening rounds of Grand Slams were struggling to manage to afford the costs of being on the tour. This announcement is sure to get a response from other Grand Slams and I would be surprised if the money didn't increase in all four slams this year. I am all for helping out the lower ranked players and allowing them to develop but I think there is a bigger problem within the game.
Players on the Challenger Tour are trying to make a living and to make the necessary improvements to be able to compete on the ATP Tour. In my opinion they are grossly underpaid in comparison to those on the main tour. For example a player putting in a major effort to win a Challenger event will win approximately $15,000 while a player losing in the first round of a Grand Slam gets over $20,000. That, in my opinion, is wrong. Obviously there is a huge gulf in class between both but I think the standard Challenger Tour could improve dramatically if there was an increase in money into events and the prize money.
The facilities have been greatly improved for the players as Tennis Australia looks to build on the very successful event they had last year where the marathon men's final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is seen as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. This year the players will have better recovery facilities and more practice courts including eight new clay courts in the new National Tennis Centre. Legend of Australian tennis Judy Dalton is going to be inducted to the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, while a special Legends lunch will be held to honour six time Australian Open winner Roy Emerson on the final Saturday. As an added touch to the men's event, former champion Andre Agassi will present the men's championship trophy to the winner.
Looking at the developments they've made in Melbourne the organisation have done their bit to ensure the success of the Australian Open continues. As well as announcing the improvements, Tiley also stated that he is confident that Rafael Nadal will be one of the great stories in January where he is expected to make his return to Grand Slam action for the first time since his Wimbledon exit in June. The Spaniard has yet to return to the tour and is not expected to until a least the end of year championships in London where he has already qualified. He remains hopeful of competing in the Davis Cup final and he has stated he intends to compete in Abu Dhabi at an exhibition event.