How the Australian Open's new rules can minimise first-round injury withdrawals

Players can not give their prize money if they retire from first-round singles matches at the Australian Open, under the new rules aimed at limiting the early injury withdrawals which have long caused controversy at Grand Slams.

Players will also be able to claim 50 percent of their prize money if they pull out before their first match.

With tens of thousands of dollars on stake, for the first time in round one, early injury was done in Grand Slams, especially at last year's Wimbledon.

READ | Juan Martin del Potro set up Auckland Classic semi-final vs David Ferrer

Eight players retired from the first round at the All-England Club, including the opponents of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic during the second set of their matches on Center Court.

"A player should not go on court if he knows he should not finish," Federer said at the time, while Djokovic noted his opponent, Martin Klizan, even "had issues walking on court" with a calf injury.

Now, under the new rules by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), any Grand Slam player who withdraws after 1200 local time on the tournament before the tournament will still receive 50 percent of first round prize money.

Their replacement - a 'lucky loser' from the qualifying tournament - will get the other 50 percent of first-round prize money

But players who do not "perform to the required professional standard" in round one, including by retiring, also risk being fined their prize money, the new rules say.

'Could not care less'

Australian bad boy Bernard Tomic was fined a £ 35,000 ($ 47,500) prize money for unsportsmanlike conduct at the Wimbledon, after saying he felt "bored" and "can not care less" following a straight-sets defeat on day one.

Any repeat this year and he will lose the lot.

A similar controversy blew up the Auckland classic this week when four players pulled out before their opening matches, citing injury or illness.

Simply by turning up, they were eligible for prize money and avoided a fine. Chris Kermode, Executive Chairman of the men's tour, the Association of Tennis Professionals, promised a shake-up, although he has accepted the players' reasons for withdrawing.

"Ranking points, player withdrawals and how we deal with that is something we've got and are looking at," he told Fairfax Media in Auckland.

In a separate rule change, the matches will start more quickly, warm-up times will be strictly enforced.

Players will be fined up to US $ 20,000 for taking more than one minute. They will also be allowed to five minutes' warm-up time on court, and another one minute before the first point.

However, plans for a shot clock to enforce a 25-second time limit in points have been shelved, and will only be used in the qualifying tournament at Melbourne Park.

New rules reverting Grand Slams to 16 seeds from the current 32 are due to come in force in 2019.