Record prize money for 2011 Australian Open

The 2011 Australian Open will offer a record prize money of A$25 million ($24 million), up 3.8 per cent on 2010. The tennis calendar's first showpiece of the season will see Rafa Nadal bid for a non-calendar grand slam.

The men's and women's winners in Melbourne will each pocket A$2.2 million ($2.1 million). Nadal and Kim Clijsters each earned $1.7 million for their US Open victories last month.

"It is a mouth-watering proposition, and he certainly will be one of the favourites," tournament director Craig Tiley said of Nadal's slam bid. "But I think Rafa himself would be the first to point out that at the moment it is all just speculation and there are a lot of tough opponents, including the reigning champion Roger Federer, standing between him and that place in history."

The Australian Open takes place from January 17-30. The grand slam's organisers also announced a 10-year extension of their TV rights deal with sports network ESPN covering North and South America.

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