In 2017, Sloane Stephens got wide-eyed as she prepared to receive the winner’s ceremonial envelope and got a reminder of the seven-figure prize coming her way.
Iga Swiatek took her envelope at the 2022 on-court trophy presentation and said she was just glad it did not contain cash.
But what was actually in these envelopes that U.S. Open winners received with their trophy?
Could it really be that they contained paper checks in this very modern era? It wasn’t impossible. This is America, after all, where we just can’t quit the things, including the cheesy oversize ones that were once a feature of Open trophy ceremonies.
And if the checks are real, who handles them for the players, and how do those people deposit them? Could we, like, accompany the check on its journey and have our best portraitist take a series of glamour shots, with bright-white lighting?
Our inquiries during last year’s tournament yielded no substantive replies from the United States Tennis Association. This year, we started asking in early June. And finally, late last month, came an answer: The envelope that U.S. Open winners receive contains no check at all.
And really, why would it?
It’s possible, after all, that Ms. Swiatek has never seen such a thing and wouldn’t know what to do with it. She hails from Poland, where banking is a bit more 21st century than it is in the United States. In America, checks are still common and a giant pain for many of the people who must use them and really wish they did not have to.
Ms. Stephens is young enough that she may never have written a check, and good for her. Check fraud is rampant, after all, and no one needs the hassle of figuring out how to deposit big ones without triggering all sorts of security alerts.
Tournament officials — and their sponsors at JPMorgan Chase — persist with the on-court pageantry nevertheless. “The handing of the envelope is a symbolic gesture to the players that helps to celebrate the moment and symbolizes the prize money that these champions are awarded for their incredible play over the course of these events,” said Brendan McIntyre, a U.S.T.A. spokesman. “It has become a memorable part of the postmatch celebration.”
Players are acutely aware of the paychecks and their size, even as they arrive digitally via their various representatives.
“I’m the one here sitting in front of you guys, moving on to the next round, getting the next check,” Taylor Townsend told reporters after a win during the first week of this year’s tournament.
Ms. Stephens (whose representatives, like those of several current and former players, did not respond to requests for comment or could not track down their chargelings to check in on the matter) seemed genuinely blown away during the passing of her envelope in 2017. So did the runner-up, Madison Keys, who jokingly offered to hold it for Ms. Stephens.
If she wins again someday, she won’t get an entirely empty envelope. “There is a ‘stand-in’ piece of paper to help to give it heft,” Mr. McIntyre said.
Heft, yes. But also a bit of levity, which may help explain why this game of pretend persists. After her win in 2017, a reporter asked Ms. Stephens about her desire to pursue additional championships.
“Of course, girl, did you see that check that that lady handed me?” Ms. Stephens said. “Like, yes. Man, if that doesn’t make you want to play tennis, I don’t know what will.”
Ron Lieber has been the Your Money columnist since 2008 and has written five books, most recently “The Price You Pay for College.”
The post What’s Inside the Envelope That U.S. Open Winners Get? It’s Not a Check. appeared first on New York Times.
