Australian Open: Prize money tops £38m with bigger share for earlier rounds

Australian Open organisers have increased the prize money to more than £38m with the biggest gains for those losing in the earlier rounds.
The overall prize fund for the tournament has increased by 14% to 71m Australian dollars (£38.1m).
Players who exit in the first round will receive 20% more than last year while money for losers in the opening qualifying round is up by a third.
The tournament proper begins in Melbourne on 20 January.
Tournament director Craig Tiley says the Australian Open is committed to “improving the pay and conditions for a deeper pool of international tennis players”.
Singles champions at the 2020 tournament will take home 4.12m Australian dollars (£2.21m).
The prize money for losing in the first round of qualifying is 20,000 Australian dollars (£10,707) and 90,000 Australian dollars (£48,183) for exiting in the first round main draw.