U.S. Open singles champs to earn record $5.5M

Sept 7, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA Aryna Sabalenka with the US Open Trophy after beating Jessica Pegula (USA) in the women's singles final on day thirteen of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images The U.S. Open has boosted the prize pool by 20%, including a Grand Slam-record $5.5 million to this year's singles champions. The overall compensation is a record $108 million, up from $90 million last year and a whopping 44% jump from $75 million in 2024. The numbers were released Thursday by the United States Tennis Association, with play at the hard-court major set to begin on Aug. 30 in Flushing, N.Y. Every player who makes the 128-player main singles draw will earn at least $140,000, the largest in tennis history. Quarterfinalists will earn $780,000 and semifinalists will get $1.45 million, with $2.8 million going to the runners-up. Last year's champions -- Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus -- each earned a winner's check of $5 million. By comparison, the prize pools for the other 2026 Grand Slam tournaments were: Wimbledon (about $87.5 million), French Open (about $71.7 million) and the Australian Open (about $79.3 million). --Field Level Media