Melbourne Park, 20 December 2012 | Tennis Australia

The Australian Open will pay more prize money per round than any other tennis event, officials announced today.

The Australian Open 2013 men’s and women’s singles champion will each receive AUD$2,430,000 – the biggest prize money purse in the history of the sport.

In other highlights

• The biggest percentage increases were in the first three rounds: first round up to $27,600 (up 32.7% from $20,800), second round up to $45,500 (up 36.6% from $33,300) and third round to $71,000 (from $54,625, up 30%).

• Prize money for the three rounds of qualifying has gone up nearly 15%

• First round doubles prize money has increased more than 30%

• Round of 16, quarters, semis have all gone up more than 14%

Tennis Australia has had extensive consultation with the ATP and WTA taking on board recommendations from both tours for the first step in what is a four year plan for prize money increases.

“Our motivation is to make a major contribution toward helping ensure professional tennis players can make a decent living,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley explained. “As we have said in the past, it is a real issue and needs to be urgently addressed throughout the sport.”

“That is why the biggest increases are in the earlier rounds, qualifying and doubles which in effect rewards a lot of the lower ranked players for their achievements which, by the way, should not be undersold. To just reach the main draw of a Slam, a professional tennis player has to be among the top 100 in what is one of, if not the most, competitive professional sport in the world.

“At the same time we also still want to continue to recognise the incredible drawing power and contribution of the top players.

“It is always a balance which is why we undertook unprecedented consultation on this subject with the tours and players who have been extremely supportive,” Tiley said. “We will not be stopping here. There will be more talks and more increases during the next four years. This is just a very positive first step.”