The prize money for next year's Australian Open will be increased by 3million Australian dollars (£1.7million), Tennis Australia has announced.
The increase takes the total prize fund for the year's first grand slam to 33million (£19.1million) making it the third richest of the major tournaments after Wimbledon and the US Open.
"We said it last year and we still believe it, these incredible athletes deserve every cent and we will continue to do everything in our power to make the life of an international professional tennis player more worthwhile," Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told http://www.australianopen.com.
"The slams have led the way, but the entire tennis fraternity still isn't there yet."
The increase continues the theme of increased prize pools at the grand slams after players campaigned for greater financial rewards and equal prizes for men and women.
Tennis Australia also announced that the Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park will have an open roof for the 2014 tournament which will be made fully retractable by 2015.
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