US Open singles champions to earn a record $5.5 million, total player compensation up 20%

Singles champions will earn a record $5.5 million at this year's US Open, with overall player compensation increasing 20% from last year's tournament. The 2026 US Open will offer a record $108 million in player compensation. Singles champions will each receive $5.5 million, a significant increase from previous years.

Even first-round losers will earn a record $140,000, reflecting broader prize money hikes. A new player support program and a Grand Slam Player Council were also announced. This initiative aims to strengthen financial support and player involvement in tournament decisions.

Total prize pool for tournament will be $108mPlayers guaranteed $140,000 for making first roundThe world’s leading tennis players have welcomed the US Open’s announcement of a 20% increase in prize money and agreed not to continue their protests at this year’s tournament as a result.The build up to both the French Open and Wimbledon was overshadowed earlier this year by a media boycott as the players continue to demand a greater share of tournament revenues, but after the US Tennis Association announced a record prize pot of $108m there will be no such disruption at Flushing Meadow. Open singles champions will earn $5.5 million, the highest winnings in Grand Slam tennis history. Overall compensation for the final major of the year is rising to a record $108 million, a 20% increase from last year and a 44% jump since 2024.

The financial details were announced Thursday by the U.S. Tennis Association, with play set to begin next week. Players will earn $140,000, largest in tennis history, just for making it into the 128-player singles main draw.

A quarterfinalist earns $780,000, a semifinalist $1.45 million and the runner-up $2.8 million. The champions’ check is up from the $5 million that Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz won last year, when the total player compensation was $90 million. The winning teams in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles will split $1 million, with the runner-up team to earn $500,000.

The wheelchair singles champions will earn $104,000. The USTA also announced it would establish a player support program, with an initial commitment of $2 million to be split equally between men’s and women’s players, which will be used to provide benefits and complement existing pension funds. USTA CEO Craig Tiley called the financial commitment to players at all levels a “significant first step in a multiyear investment in athletes as the U.S.