French Open hikes prize money as Brexit eats Wimbledon purse

FILE PHOTO: The Musketeers' Trophy and the Suzanne Lenglen trophy are pictured during the draw ceremony for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, May 20, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - The French Open will this month serve up the largest prize money pot in Grand Slam tennis so far this year, taking advantage of Brexit's hit on Wimbledon's purse as it shakes off its old reputation as the poorer cousin of the big four tournaments.

This year's clay-court slam will award prize money totalling 39.20 million euros (34.33 million pounds). That trumps the Australian Open and Wimbledon, though it will almost certainly be knocked off the top spot by the U.S. Open.