The US Open have announced a huge increase to their prize pot for the 2024 tournament at Flushing Meadows, which will see tennis stars such as Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu fight to earn the biggest amount of prize money in Grand Slam history.
Organisers have revealed the total prize fund being offered for the Grand Slam will rise to £59.1million ($75m) – a massive 15 per cent higher than the amount paid out in 2023.
The winner of the men’s and women’s singles will take home a whopping £2.87m ($3.6m) each, representing a significant rise from the £2.36m ($3m) earned by last year’s winners Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff.
US Open officials say it is the “largest prize pot in tennis history”, surpassing the record £50m offered at Wimbledon and £46m made available by Roland Garros chiefs.
All players in the main draw in Queens will notice a substantial pay hike, with first-round main-draw losers in both men’s and women’s singles pocketing £78,828 ($100,000). It’s the first time a six-figure fee has been offered at the tournament in American currency and a 23 per cent rise from 12 months ago.
Total prize money for men’s and women’s doubles will be boosted by nine per cent compared to the 2023 figure, while total prize money for mixed doubles will increase by 18 per cent.
It is not yet known if ticket prices will be affected as a result, with rising ticket prices a consistent topic of complaint from tennis fans around the world.
But it will provide a welcome boost to struggling players who often do not make it past the early rounds of the draw.
Raducanu, who claimed a memorable maiden Grand Slam victory at the US Open in 2021, has only advanced beyond the second round of a Major once since her success against Leylah Fernandez in New York three years ago.
And for the favourites in the men’s draw, Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, it provides another lucrative opportunity to boost their finances.
Alcaraz has won two out of three Grand Slams this year at the French Open and Wimbledon, while Jannik Sinner was crowned the Australian Open champion.
But the chance to land the biggest prize yet for a men’s singles victory will only increase their motivation ahead of the tournament, which begins on August 26 and runs for two weeks.
US Open Men’s and women’s singles prize money:
Champion: £2,84m
Runner-up: £1.42m
Semi-finalists: £789k
Quarter-finalists: £418k
Round of 16: £256k
Round of 32: £169k
Round of 64: £110k
Round of 128: £79k
Sep 3, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Alexander Zverev (GER) waves to the crowd while leaving the court after his match against Taylor Fritz (USA)(not pictured) on da
Poland's Magda Linette swings for the ball in her doubles match with USA's Peyton Stearns against Czech's Linda Nosková and Diana Shnaider on Thursday August 1
The ATP Tour Finals in Turin, Italy have their semifinalists. After 12 matches, all but two of them straight-sets wins, Jannik Sinner will face Casper Ruud in o
It has been seven months since Emma Raducanu led Great Britain to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. So much has happened since then, from her gradual rise back u