U.S. Open winners will take home hefty paychecks this year, distributed from a record purse of $75 million for the final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season. The total pot is 15% bigger than it was in 2023.
The checks awarded to the men’s and women’s singles draw champions could go to American players.
Though it’s unclear who the winners will be, two American women — Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula — reached the semifinals, and Pegula won her match, earning a place in the finals. Navarro and Pegula happen to have fathers who are billionaires. On the men’s side, another American could also take home the trophy — and first-place check — for the first time since Andy Roddick won the tournament in 2003. Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe will face off in one of two semifinal matches on Friday.
The winners of the women’s and men’s singles draws will each earn equivalent $3.6 million checks — a 20% bump from the $3 million winners earned in 2023. The finalists in each event, or runners-up, will get $1.8 million this year, according to official figures from the Queens, New York, tournament. All four semifinalists in both singles draws will get $1 million a piece. Notably, this year marks the 50th anniversary of male and female players earning equal prize money at the tournament.
U.S. Open winners earn more than Wimbledon champions, who each took home £2.7 million, or just over $3.4 million, a substantial bump of nearly 15% from 2023, according to official prize money figures released by the grass court tournament.
At the U.S. Open, men’s and women’s singles players who make it as far as the round of 128, also known as first-round main-draw losers, earn prize money too. The payout breakdown is as follows:
- Round of 16: $325,000
- Round of 32: $215,000
- Round of 64: $140,000
- Round of 128: $100,000
Doubles players earn significantly less. The champion women’s and men’s doubles teams each get $750,000, to be split between the two players. Second-place teams get $375,000 each. The winners of the mixed doubles event take home $200,000, while the second-place team gets a $100,000 check.
The women’s finals take place on Saturday, Sept. 7, while the men’s championship match will be played on Sunday.
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
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