Reports: Prize money for Australian Open 2021 champions down by 33%, early round losers to get higher share than before

The men's and women's singles champions at the Australian Open 2021 Grand Slam event will earn 33% less than the 2020 champions, according to noted Italian journalist Luca Fiorino.

When Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin claimed the 2020 Australian Open men's and women's singles titles respectively, they each took home a winner's check of AUD$ 4.12 million. But the Australian Open 2021 champions will reportedly earn AUD$ 2.75 million, which corresponds to a reduction of 33%.

Australian Open prize money 👇 pic.twitter.com/cIExen2PG8

— Luca Fiorino (@FiorinoLuca) December 30, 2020

The singles runners-up will see their prize money drop by 27%, while the semifinalists will earn 18% lesser than their counterparts in 2020.

According to the Australian Open website, the total prize pool for the 2021 event will remain at the 2020 level of $71.5 million. That means there has been a significant redistribution of funds; a greater share of the pool will now go to early round winners and losers.

First round losers at the Australian Open 2021 will take home a check of AUD $100,000, up 11% from last year. Meanwhile those losing in the second and third rounds will see their prize money checks go up by 17% and 19% respectively.

The prize money for the doubles event also follows a similar pattern. The winners' and runners'-up checks will drop by 21% and 11% respectively, while the early round losers will earn more than last year.

Tennis Australia pulling out all the stops to ensure Australian Open 2021 goes ahead

Craig Tiley at the Australian Open 2020 Launch

Tennis Australia is doing everything in its power to ensure that the Australian Open 2021 goes ahead as planned. The tournament organizers have had intense negotiations with the Victoria state officials as well as the different governing bodies of tennis to arrive at a common ground that suits everyone.

The Australian Open 2021 has been pushed back by three weeks due to the pandemic, and will begin on 8 February. Players are expected to arrive in Melbourne by mid-January and undergo two weeks of hotel quarantine after that.

During the quarantine period players will only be allowed to leave their rooms for training, and that too for just five hours everyday.

Tennis Australia has also scheduled a trimmed down version of the ATP Cup and multiple smaller ATP and WTA events in the first week of February. That would give the players an opportunity to get some matches under their belt before the year's first Slam gets underway.