Tennis ball used on championship point from men's 2025 US Open final sells for almost $100,000 at auction

Sports fans are always eager to get their hands on memorabilia from iconic events. It comes as no surprise that a rather wealthy investor paid a large sum for the championship-point ball from the men's US Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, paying a record amount to obtain the item at an auction.

Alcaraz and Sinner faced each other for the third straight time in a Grand Slam final when they met at the 2025 US Open. The dynamic duo had split their earlier two meetings, with Alcaraz winning Roland Garros while Sinner prevailed at Wimbledon.

Their third consecutive encounter saw the Spaniard dethrone the World No.1 as Flushing Meadows champion, behind a decisive four-set victory. Alcaraz sealed his victory with an ace to win his sixth overall Grand Slam singles title, but the fate of the ball used on that point went unnoticed.

It was later revealed that a Sotheby's representative authenticated the ball immediately after the match. It was then taken off the premises and prepared for auction.

Championship-point ball fetches record amount

The online auction was held from September 4 through Tuesday, September 23. The ball was sold for $88,900, setting a record for the most paid of a tennis ball at a public auction.

Furthermore, a ball WTA World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka used for championship point in her 2025 U.S. Open women's singles finale win over American Amanda Anisimova sold for $4,064 at the Sotheby's auction. By comparison, the US Open shop sells sets of three official tennis balls for $10.

A total of 29 items were sold, including more than a dozen tennis balls, two rackets and match-worn shirts, shoes and a dress. A pair of signed Nike Vapor 12 sneakers Alcaraz wore in his semifinal win over Novak Djokovic sold for $57,150, with a match-point ball from that meeting selling for $31,750.

A signed racket used by former World No.1 Naomi Osaka in her semifinal loss to Anisimova sold for $16,510. Osaka's custom purple Nike dress, which she also signed, from her quarterfinal win over No. 15 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, sold for $15,240.

A custom orange Nike shirt Sinner wore in his second-round win over Alexei Popyrin sold for $7,620. A signed custom white ON shirt worn by Iga Swiatek during her second round win over Suzan Lamens sold for $6,350. The auction also included two shirts and four pairs of shoes worn by Swiatek at the tournament.