(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Australian Open increases prize money to $21.4M

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The men's and women's champions at the Australian Open will collect $1.86 million for winning the season's opening Grand Slam event.

Australian Open organizers announced the increased prize money for the Jan. 18-31 tournament on Tuesday, with the total for the tournament increasing by 4.1 percent to $21.4 million.

The Australian Open has offered equal prize money for the men's and women's draws since 2001, when the total prize pool was $7.5 million and the champions received $450,000.

Updated October 6, 2009