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Singles winners at the U.S. Open tennis tournament will receive $3 million
Ten years ago Roger Federer took home $1 million for bagging the title
Total prize money in 2014 climbs to $38.3 million, an increase of 11.7% from 2013
Each round in the singles competition sees double-digit rises
Traveling the world playing professional tennis isn’t as lucrative as it appears. If you’re outside the top 100, the consensus is that making a profit is difficult.
Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov, currently ranked 30th, told CNN last year that he needed to pocket $200,000 a season just to break even.
The players, then, will be happy to hear about another prize money boost at the U.S. Open.
It seems that every grand slam nowadays increases the total on offer and the U.S. Open didn’t buck the trend after announcing it will pay out a tournament record $3 million to singles winners in September at Flushing Meadows. Ten years ago, Roger Federer took home $1 million for beating Lleyton Hewitt in the men’s final.
Based on current conversion rates, the $3 million is slightly less than the £1.76 million ($3.01 million) dished out to the singles champions at Wimbledon last weekend. Wimbledon and the U.S. Open lead the way in prize money of the four majors.
The U.S. Open is also handing out double-digit raises in each round of the singles, something lower-ranked players will be particularly pleased about.
Overall, prize money climbs to a tournament record $38.3 million.
“Last year, to recognize the importance of the players and the key role they have in building our sport, the USTA shared our vision to reach $50 million in prize money at the U.S. Open by 2017,” Dave Haggerty, the USTA’s chairman of the board and president, said in a statement Wednesday.
“This year’s prize money increase continues the commitment to make the U.S. Open one of the most lucrative purses in all of sports.”
Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the defending champions at the U.S. Open, which begins August 25.
