Australian Open 2016 prize money: £2m earnings boost on offer for ATP Tour competitors
The tennis season's first big payday arrives at the Australian Open next week – and more money is on offer in Melbourne than ever before.
This year's men and women's singles winners will earn the major tournament's biggest ever reward of AUS$3.4m (£1.7m) after it increased its prize money pool by AUS$4m to AUS$44m.
Should world No1 players Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams successfully defend their men's and women's singles titles, they will enjoy a winner's paycheque AUS$300,000 (£340,000) larger than what they received a year ago thanks to the boost the tournament has given its prize money purse.
Read more: Andy Murray finishes 2015 season with the highest prize money earnings of his career to date
The overall paycheque for the tournament has increased by over 150 per cent since 2008 when Djokovic first won the hard court grand slam and pocketed AUS$1.4m.
Should Andy Murray once again suffer in the final for a fifth time, he could at the very least be consoled by tournament earnings worth nearly £1m – around £200,000 more than he made last year.
The Scot has appeared in the final of the Australian Open more than any other grand slam event but has lost on all four occasions.
Yet despite the many heartbreaks on the court, the event has at least served Murray's bank balance well, earning him over £3m so far throughout his career – more than he has made from both the US Open and French Open.
Also representing British men's tennis down under will be British No5 and world No185 Dan Evans who has reached the Austalian Open main draw for the first time in his career to guarantee himself a minimum of AUS$34,500 (£16,599) – half of what he made in the entirety of 2015.
Evans now faces a tough test against world No19 Feliciano Lopez while Murray has the less daunting prospect of playing German teenager Alexander Zverev.
British No2 Aljaz Bedene has been drawn against American Steve Johnson while Murray's Davis Cup teammate and British No3 Kyle Edmund faces Bosnian Damir Dzumhur.
In the women's draw British No1 Johanna Konta has been handed a tricky tie against Venus Williams while British No2 Heather Watson takes on Timea Babos.