THE SIDELINES : Australia May Be Aced Out : Tennis Event Needs More Prize Money to Keep Pace With Elite

The Australian Open tennis championship could lose its Grand Slam status to tournaments in Sweden, Japan or the United States unless it can come up with more prize money, tournament General Manager Jim Reid said today.

Reid said the Australian Open was having difficulty matching the total purses offered by the three other Grand Slam tournaments--Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open.

“We have to find extra money or risk losing Grand Slam status,” Reid said.

Reid was reacting to news that purses for Wimbledon and the French Open were to increase by 22%. Both tournaments will offer about $5.75 million in 1991, nearly twice the $3 million offered for the 1989 Australian Open.

The Australian Open is the first leg of the Grand Slam and has some difficulty attracting top players because it takes place only three weeks after Christmas.

“We have to keep pace. We had high hopes of catching up and had hoped that they would not increase their prize money to the extent of 22%,” Reid said.