NEW YORK: The last Grand Slam of tennis’ calendar year, the US Open confirmed on Tuesday that it will be widening its pot of prize money to an unprecedented $53 million for its 2018 edition, which is also co-incidentally its 50th anniversary.
The winner of the men’s and women’s singles competitions will be rewarded with $3.8 million, an increase of $100,000 from last year and the biggest ever for any Grand Slam in the history of the game. The US Open was the first tournament to offer equal prize money to men and women competitors in 1973.
The total $53 million purse is more than a 5% increase on the $50.4 million offered in 2017. The tournament will also be increasing its pay for participants in the first three rounds of the competition, much on the lines of what Wimbledon did this year.
“2018 is a significant year in our history,” said United States Tennis Association (USTA) chairman and president Katrina Adams.
“Not only is it the 50th anniversary of the tournament, we also have completed the five-year transformation of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We know that we are poised for incredible growth moving forward.”
In addition, the US Open Qualifying Tournament will offer more than $3 million in prize money for the first time.
Round-by-round individual prize money for the US Open is as follows:
Singles:
Winner: $3,800,000
Runner-Up: $1,850,000
Semifinalist: $925,000
Quarterfinalist: $475,000
Round of 16: $266,000
Round of 32: $156,000
Round of 64: $93,000
Round of 128: $54,000
Doubles (each team):
Winner: $700,000
Runner-Up: $350,000
Semifinalist: $166,400
Quarterfinalist: $85,275
Round of 16: $46,500
Round of 32: $27,875
Round of 64: $16,500
The US Open is scheduled to begin from August 27 and end on September 9, with the US Open Qualifying Tournament beginning on August 21.
