The US Open will see a significant increase in prize money for this year’s winners. On Wednesday, the tournament announced a major upgrade to the prize money. The New York City showcase is the first competition to reach $90 million player coverage.
Following the $70 million prize money set in 2024 when it established a record, the tournament has seen a 21% increase in wallets this year. According to US open sites, the incredible amounts that players compete for are just 15% of the tournament’s $559.7 million revenue.
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The winner of the men’s and women’s tournament singles pays for the biggest win in tennis, each pocketing $5 million. This is a 39% bump from the $3.6 million award in 2024.
The prize money grew not only for the title winners but also for other participants.
The upgraded wallet will cover runner-ups ($2.5 million, an increase of 39%), semi-finals ($1.26 million, an increase of 26%), quarter-finals ($660,000, an increase of 25%) and 16 competitors ($400,000, an increase of 23%). This came after years of strategic focus on redistribution to provide important payments to all participants.
In addition to increasing prize money, the US Open has also seen it reduce players’ out-of-pocket costs.
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Competitors will receive a $1,000 travel salary and two rooms, $600 per day to the Player Hotel if they choose to stay elsewhere. Players can also take advantage of a free racket string of up to five rackets per pound. These accommodations total $5 million for player support.
The US Open’s prize money has been heavily warped over other majors, with Wimbledon paying $72.7 million, the French Open paying $65.4 million, and the Australian Open paying $62.9 million for all players.
Before it increased, a small number of players expressed concern about their share of tournament revenue. The top tennis player hired WTA CEO Larry Scott to speak on behalf of the organizers of the Grand Slam event. The players were fighting to receive a large portion of the tournament’s revenue. According to the New York Times, US team sports give players nearly 50% benefits, while tennis players generally receive 15% to 20% of the revenues of large slams.
Additionally, the Association of Professional Tennis Players, led by Novak Jjokovic, filed an anti-trust lawsuit, naming the four Grand Slams “co-conspirators” and “cartels” that include the men and women’s tour, the International Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
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The PTPA shared that it had a “productive discussion” with four majors and was removed from the updated complaints filed in June. Since then, the ATP and WTA have filed to dismiss the lawsuit.
The US Open will be held from August 24th to September 7th at the Billy Junking National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.
