Picture credit score: US Open/USTA
The 2026 US Open will current a significant participant elevate.
The Flushing Meadows main pays out $108 million in prize cash, the most important participant prize pool in professional tennis historical past.
The $108 million represents a 20 p.c improve from the earlier file set on the 2025 US Open ($90 million) – the second consecutive yr of a 20 p.c improve and a 44 p.c improve in complete compensation over two years.
The 2026 US Open singles champions will obtain the most important Grand Slam pay verify in historical past at $5.5 million. Gamers who contest the US Open singles first spherical will earn $140,000.
The compensation package deal additionally features a new Participant Assist Program seeded with an preliminary $2 million dedication in 2026, equally break up between women and men gamers.
“It is a important first step in a multi-year funding in athletes because the US Open continues to be the perfect financial alternative for gamers and essentially the most helpful platform in tennis for gamers, followers and companions,” USTA CEO Craig Tiley stated. “We’re proud to ship record-setting prize cash and expanded participant advantages in addition to offering a brand new platform to work along with gamers.”
The query is: Will the prize cash package deal fulfill gamers, together with world No. 1 champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, who’ve each known as for Grand Slams to share a higher share of income with the gamers.
The US Open will grow to be the primary Grand Slam to determine a Participant Assist Program. As a part of the full 2026 compensation, the US Open dedicated an preliminary $2 million, equally break up between women and men gamers, which will probably be held in an escrow account pending the finalization of particulars of the brand new program, with steerage and enter from the newly shaped Grand Slam Participant Council.
The USTA introduced it’s: “Designed to enhance current end-of-career pension funds, this new US Open program will carry a variety of advantages for mid-career life occasions and retirement transitions. It is going to be constructed upon a easy definition of participant eligibility with out reliance on rating tiers, making this system obtainable to US Open essential draw singles and doubles opponents.”
Moreover, in a separate Grand Slam announcement at this time, the US Open joined the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, and Wimbledon to type a brand new Grand Slam Participant Council to present gamers a voice in on-court and in-tournament points. The Participant Council may also present suggestions to the US Open to information how the brand new US Open Participant Assist Program will probably be deployed.
“The US Open has a protracted historical past of listening to gamers, and this participant help program and Council builds on that dedication. We stay up for working instantly with gamers to raised perceive the alternatives and challenges they face, and to proceed discovering significant methods to help them each on and off the court docket,” stated Brian Vahaly, Chairman of the Board and President of the USTA.
