US Open 2026: Record $108m Prize Pool as Singles Champions Set to Bank $5.5m
The 2026 US Open will pay its singles champions $5.5 million each — the largest winner's cheque in Grand Slam tennis history — as part of a record $108 million total player compensation package announced by the US Tennis Association on Thursday The Guardian.
Play begins next week at Flushing Meadows, and the money on offer has climbed sharply. Total player compensation is up 20% from last year's $90 million and 44% higher than the $75 million pool of 2024. The previous highest purse in tennis history was the 2025 figure, which itself was a record Reuters.
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka each collected $5 million for winning the men's and women's singles titles. The $500,000 bump for 2026 champions puts the US Open well clear of the other three majors: Wimbledon paid $4.9 million to its 2026 singles champions, the French Open $3.3 million, and the Australian Open $2.9 million.
The generosity extends deep into the draw. Players who simply make the 128-person singles main draw — the first round of the tournament proper, before any qualifying rounds — will collect $140,000, also a tennis record. Quarter-finalists earn $780,000, semi-finalists $1.45 million, and the runner-up takes home $2.8 million. Every one of those figures is up from 2025, when quarter-finalists earned $660,000, semi-finalists $1.26 million, and finalists $2.5 million.
Doubles champions will split $1 million per event across men's, women's, and mixed doubles, with the losing finalists sharing $500,000. Wheelchair singles champions earn $104,000.
Alongside the prize money, the USTA unveiled a player support program with an initial $2 million commitment, split equally between men's and women's players, to fund benefits and complement existing pension arrangements. USTA CEO Craig Tiley called the financial commitment "a significant first step" in a multiyear investment in athletes at all levels.
The support program will be shaped with input from the Grand Slam Player Council, a body whose creation was announced in August 2026 after players pushed for greater influence over revenue and decision-making at the four major tournaments.
What makes these numbers striking is the pace. The US Open has added $33 million to its prize pool in two years. The gap between Flushing Meadows and the other Slams is widening, too — the Australian Open's champion cheque of $2.9 million is barely half of what the US Open will pay. For players, the hard courts of New York have never been more rewarding.
For fans, the stakes behind every match just got a little heavier. A first-round exit now pays more than many players earned for reaching a quarter-final a decade ago.
