U.S. Open once again raises the bar with record prize money

In 1973, the U.S. Open became the first sporting event in history to offer equal prize money for men and women players, prompting other major tournaments to follow suit. 

The final major of the year continued to set the standard for payouts in professional tennis, offering a larger purse than the other three slams, sometimes even substantially higher sums. 

That trend is set to continue, with the 2025 U.S. Open offering the highest prize money ever of up to $90 million, which marks a 20 percent increase over last year's $75 million, which was a record in itself. 

In comparison, the 2025 Australian Open ($62.9 million), French Open ($65.4 million) and Wimbledon ($72.7 million) offered considerably lower prize money to the world's best male and female tennis stars.

The USTA announced that the men's and women's singles champions will each receive $5 million, a 39 percent increase from the $3.6 million awarded to the 2024 winners, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka. Even the finalists ($2.5 million, an increase of 39 percent) and semifinalists ($1.26 million, an increase of 26 percent) will reap the rewards of the new pay scale, which extends through to every round of the main draw. 

To put things in perspective, the runner-up of this year's U.S. Open ($2.5 million) will earn more than this year's Australian Open champion ($2.25 million), while factoring in exchange rates.