US Open Prize Money

2022 Breakdown & Historicals

The 2022 US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, is scheduled to take place from Monday, August 29 to Sunday, September 11, and this year prize money hits a record high of $60,000,000, which translates to €60,419,700 and £50,988,000, a 4% increase over 2021.

As one of the world’s most prestigious Grand Slam tournaments, the US Open continues to deliver the most prize money of any single event on the ATP and WTA tours, and this year they don’t disappoint.

Men and women earn equal prize money at the US Open, so singles champions will take home a massive $2,600,000 paycheck, while the runner-ups will walk away with an equally impressive $1,300,000. Both of these sums represent a 4% increase over the prior year.

For the doubles event, the winning pairs will earn $688,000, and the teams in the runner-up position will split $344,000 for a 4% jump for both over last year’s event, just like in singles.

In 2021, the USTA adjusted its allocation of prize money to better support lower-ranked players participating in qualifiers and earlier rounds in the main draw. For 2022, this effort continues with the tournament distributing an impressive $6,250,000 in the qualifying tournament alone and final round qualifiers earning $44,000.

With attendance at tournaments worldwide increasing and full capacity expected for the 2022 US Open, expectations for prize money were high, and the last Grand Slam of the year delivered the goods. This guide shares everything you need to know about the 2022 purse, including historical data for comparison and reference.

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How the US Open is Funded

Prize Money Distribution

Men vs. Women

2022 Full Breakdown

Prize Money by Year

FAQs

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How the US Open is Funded

Owned and operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the US Open is one of the world’s biggest sporting events, drawing 738,000 fans in 2019 before the pandemic slowed things down for a few years.

Like other tennis tournaments, the US Open generates roughly 85% of its revenue from sponsorships, broadcasting rights, tickets, concessions, and merchandise, according to Forbes. However, they have another trick up their sleeve, membership dues from players across the country.

Here’s how the tournament’s 2017 revenues broke down:

Broadcasting: $120m (36%)
Ticket Sales: $120m (36%)
Sponsorships: $65m (19%)
Concessions & Merch: $30m (9%)

In total, the US Open generated an enormous $350 million, which is how the tournament can pay such hefty sums in prize money. Of course, the US Open doesn’t pocket all that money. There are a lot of costs to cover, from upkeep and expansion of the grounds to marketing, insurance, USTA and tournament staff, player development, and their never-ending work to grow the sport; it’s a big enterprise.

Despite the size and scope of the USTA, they still manage to consistently dish out more prize money than any other Grand Slam. Here’s a look at how the US Open compares to the other three majors in 2022.

Tournament	Prize Money	US Dollars
Australian Open	$75,000,000	$51,528,000
French Open	€43,600,000	$43,308,534
Wimbledon	£40,350,000	$47,468,345
US Open	$60,000,000	$60,000,000

Compared to the Australian Open, the second highest paying major in tennis, the US Open offers 16% more prize money.

With the tournament’s aggressive expansion in recent years, it’s safe to assume that the US Open will remain the highest-paying tennis tournament for many years, continuing to cement its place as one of the most prestigious sporting events worldwide.

Prize Money Distribution

As you might expect, the US Open distributes prize money in a tiered fashion where a player’s earnings increase the further they make it in the event, which is standard for nearly all tennis tournaments.

As a point of reference, here’s a table of payouts for the men’s and women’s singles for 2022.

2022	US Dollar	British Pound	Euro
Winner	$2,600,000	£2,211,287	€2,616,939
Runner-up	$1,300,000	£1,105,644	€1,308,470
Semifinal	$705,000	£599,599	€709,593
Quarterfinal	$445,000	£378,470	€447,899
Round 4	$278,000	£236,438	€279,811
Round 3	$188,000	£159,893	€189,225
Round 2	$121,000	£102,910	€121,788
Round 1	$80,000	£68,040	€80,521

Singles is one of many events held at the US Open, so we can also break prize money down by discipline, i.e., singles, doubles, mixed doubles, etc., and a separate amount for qualifying rounds. Here’s how those numbers broke down for last year’s tournament where data is available.

Event	Prize Money	Percent of Total
Singles	$40,560,000	70.6%
Doubles	$6,612,000	11.5%
Qualifying Singles	$5,952,000	10.4%
Mixed Doubles	$638,000	1.1%
Wheelchair Events	$600,000	1.0%
Per Diem / Direct Hotel Payments	$3,100,000	5.39%
Total Prize Money	$57,462,000	100%

Reviewing the numbers above, you can begin to understand where the tournament prioritizes its prize money, which viewership and event popularity heavily dictate.

Men vs. Women

In 1973, shortly after the Open Era began, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to institute equal prize money for men and women. Although it’s worth giving props to the US Open for their actions, Billie Jean King’s lobbying and her threat of a tournament boycott were undeniably catalysts for their decision to change.

It would be over 20 years before the Australian Open followed suit in 2001 to offer equal prize money to women. Here’s a look at when each of the Grand Slam tournaments moved to equal pay.

US Open: 1973
Australian Open: 2001
French Open: 2006
Wimbledon: 2007

To better understand the pay gap at the start of the Open Era, it’s worth noting the US Open’s prize money distribution in 1968, which was $98,700 for men and a mere $42,300 for women. That year the US Open paid women 42.8% of the men’s earnings.

2022 Full Breakdown

Only on five occasions has it decreased or remained the same, with the most significant decline coming in 1971 with a 9.27% drop. On average, the tournament’s prize money has increased by 17% each year.

More recently, prize money suffered in 2020 due to the pandemic, with a 6.70% drop from 2019. However, it rebounded in 2021, rising 7.60%.

For 2022, there’s another 4% increase in prize money for players as the event returns to full capacity. Furthermore, the tournament continues distributing more funds to earlier rounds to improve opportunities for lower-ranked players, which they also did last year.

The following tables break down prize money by round since 2010 for men and women. You can scroll left to right to view the entire data set.

For comparison, I’ve converted US dollars to Euros and Sterling pounds, which I calculate using the prior year’s exchange rate on the day of the final for a close approximation of value.

Men & Women Singles

US Dollar

Round	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Winner	$2,600,000	$2,500,000	$3,000,000	$3,850,000	$3,800,000	$3,700,000	$3,500,000	$3,300,000	$3,000,000	$2,600,000	$1,900,000	$1,800,000	$1,700,000
Runner-up	$1,300,000	$1,250,000	$1,500,000	$1,900,000	$1,850,000	$1,825,000	$1,750,000	$1,600,000	$1,450,000	$1,300,000	$950,000	$900,000	$850,000
Semifinal	$705,000	$675,000	$800,000	$960,000	$925,000	$920,000	$875,000	$805,000	$730,000	$650,000	$475,000	$450,000	$400,000
Quarterfinal	$445,000	$425,000	$425,000	$500,000	$475,000	$470,000	$450,000	$410,975	$370,250	$325,000	$237,500	$225,000	$200,000
Round 4	$278,000	$265,000	$250,000	$280,000	$266,000	$253,625	$235,000	$213,575	$187,300	$165,000	$120,000	$110,000	$100,000
Round 3	$188,000	$180,000	$163,000	$163,000	$156,000	$144,000	$140,000	$120,200	$105,090	$93,000	$65,000	$55,000	$50,250
Round 2	$121,000	$115,000	$100,000	$100,000	$93,000	$86,000	$77,188	$68,600	$60,420	$53,000	$37,000	$31,000	$31,000
Round 1	$80,000	$75,000	$61,000	$58,000	$54,000	$50,000	$43,313	$39,500	$35,754	$32,000	$23,000	$19,000	$19,000

British Sterling Pound

Please note that all historical data for US Open prize money in British sterling pounds considers exchange rates on the day of the final for the years listed.

Round	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Winner	£2,211,040	£1,821,361	£2,292,518	£2,870,564	£2,917,690	£2,803,922	£2,624,259	£2,139,384	£1,862,544	£1,653,050	£1,182,460	£1,135,210	£1,094,585
Runner-up	£1,105,520	£910,680	£1,146,259	£1,416,642	£1,420,455	£1,383,016	£1,312,129	£1,037,277	£900,230	£826,525	£591,230	£567,605	£547,293
Semifinal	£599,532	£491,767	£611,338	£715,777	£710,227	£697,192	£656,065	£521,880	£453,219	£413,263	£295,615	£283,802	£257,549
Quarterfinal	£378,428	£309,631	£324,773	£372,800	£364,711	£356,174	£337,405	£266,434	£229,869	£206,631	£147,807	£141,901	£128,775
Round 4	£236,411	£193,064	£191,043	£208,768	£204,238	£192,201	£176,200	£138,460	£116,285	£104,905	£74,682	£69,374	£64,387
Round 3	£159,875	£131,138	£124,560	£121,533	£119,779	£109,126	£104,970	£77,925	£65,245	£59,128	£40,453	£34,687	£32,355
Round 2	£102,898	£83,783	£76,417	£74,560	£71,407	£65,172	£57,875	£44,473	£37,512	£33,697	£23,027	£19,551	£19,960
Round 1	£68,032	£54,641	£46,615	£43,245	£41,462	£37,891	£32,476	£25,608	£22,198	£20,345	£14,314	£11,983	£12,234

Euro

Please note that all historical data for US Open prize money in euros considers exchange rates on the day of the final for the years listed.

Round	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Winner	€2,616,770	€2,128,112	€2,539,263	€3,267,336	€3,277,784	€3,079,023	€3,113,630	€2,918,546	€2,318,930	€1,960,134	€1,478,139	€1,317,899	€1,308,719
Runner-up	€1,308,385	€1,064,056	€1,269,632	€1,612,452	€1,595,763	€1,518,707	€1,556,815	€1,415,053	€1,120,816	€980,067	€739,070	€658,950	€654,360
Semifinal	€709,547	€574,590	€677,137	€814,712	€797,882	€765,595	€778,407	€711,948	€564,273	€490,033	€369,535	€329,475	€307,934
Quarterfinal	€447,870	€361,779	€359,729	€424,329	€409,723	€391,119	€400,324	€363,470	€286,195	€245,017	€184,767	€164,737	€153,967
Round 4	€279,793	€225,580	€211,605	€237,624	€229,445	€211,059	€209,058	€188,887	€144,779	€124,393	€93,356	€80,538	€76,983
Round 3	€189,213	€153,224	€137,967	€138,331	€134,562	€119,832	€124,545	€106,306	€81,232	€70,112	€50,568	€40,269	€38,684
Round 2	€121,780	€97,893	€84,642	€84,866	€80,219	€71,566	€68,667	€60,670	€46,703	€39,957	€28,785	€22,697	€23,865
Round 1	€80,516	€63,843	€51,632	€49,222	€46,579	€41,608	€38,532	€34,934	€27,637	€24,125	€17,893	€13,911	€14,627

Men & Women Doubles (Per Pair)

2022	US Dollar	British Pound	Euro	Change vs. 2021
Winner	$688,000	£585,075	€692,644	4%
Runner-up	$344,000	£292,538	€346,322	4%
Semifinal	$172,000	£146,269	€173,161	5%
Quarterfinal	$97,500	£82,914	€98,158	5%
Round 3	$56,400	£47,963	€56,781	4%
Round 2	$35,800	£30,444	€36,042	5%
Round 1	$21,300	£18,114	€21,444	7%

Mixed Doubles (Per Pair)

These figures are not yet released for 2022.

Player(s)	Dollars	British Pound	Euro	Change from 2021
Winner	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%
Runner-up	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%
Semi-finalists	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%
Quarter-finalists	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%
Second Round	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%
First Round	$TBD	£TBD	€TBD	TBD%

Prize Money by Year

Here’s a recap of historical data for US Open prize money by year with a graph helping visualize growth over time.

Year	Total Prize Money	% Change
2022	$60,000,000	4.42%
2021	$57,462,000	7.60%
2020	$53,402,000	-6.70%
2019	$57,238,700	13.20%
2018	$50,565,840	0.20%
2017	$50,464,800	8.99%
2016	$46,303,400	9.59%
2015	$42,253,400	10.46%
2014	$38,251,760	11.68%
2013	$34,252,000	34.18%
2012	$25,526,000	7.62%
2011	$23,718,000	4.63%
2010	$22,668,000	4.63%
2009	$21,664,000	4.87%
2008	$20,657,000	5.11%
2007	$19,653,000	-7.34%
2006	$21,210,000	19.55%
2005	$17,742,000	-0.05%
2004	$17,750,000	3.96%
2003	$17,074,000	5.56%
2002	$16,174,200	2.61%
2001	$15,762,300	5.00%
2000	$15,011,000	97.63%
1999	$7,595,330	5.38%
1998	$7,207,590	4.69%
1997	$6,884,952	6.48%
1996	$6,465,910	7.31%
1995	$6,025,550	6.04%
1994	$5,682,170	12.55%
1993	$5,048,450	14.30%
1992	$4,416,820	10.12%
1991	$4,010,970	5.01%
1990	$3,819,730	21.89%
1989	$3,133,749	19.97%
1988	$2,612,126	23.23%
1987	$2,119,780	0.00%
1986	$2,119,780	9.56%
1985	$1,934,760	32.35%
1984	$1,461,896	49.45%
1983	$978,211	64.86%
1982	$593,366	84.20%
1981	$322,136	9.77%
1980	$293,464	5.92%
1979	$277,066	-0.70%
1978	$279,023	25.38%
1977	$222,540	41.08%
1976	$157,740	37.31%
1975	$114,875	18.31%
1974	$97,100	85.31%
1973	$52,400	4.11%
1972	$50,330	33.18%
1971	$37,790	-9.27%
1970	$41,650	24.81%
1969	$33,370	27.61%
1968	$26,150	–

Please note that all data is in US dollars.

FAQs

US Open prize money is always a hot topic, so it’s common for fans to have several questions relating to the subject. Here are some of the most common we hear.

Is US Open prize money taxed?

Yes. The local government taxes player earnings for tennis tournaments. Therefore, for the US Open, players are taxed at the United States tax rate, ranging from 10-35%, depending on a player’s earnings.

It’s worth noting that players usually will not pay taxes on their prize money to their local government due to Double Tax Treaties that typically exist to prevent double taxation.

Do junior US Open players win prize money?

No. US Open junior tournaments are amateur events, so participants do not earn prize money. However, they do earn ranking points for their participation.

Why did the US Open’s prize money go down in 2021?

The US Open’s prize money declined 6.70% in 2020 due to the pandemic when fans were not allowed to attend the tournament. Ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise represent over 40% of the tournament’s revenue, so a reduction was inevitable without fans.

Considering the challenges that faced the tournament that year, it’s impressive they retained most of the prize money, let alone run the event.

Do US Open qualifiers earn prize money?

Yes, in 2022, the US Open is allocating $6,250,00 in prize money to the qualifying tournament. In singles, sixty-four players compete for one of sixteen available qualifying spots. If players lose in any qualifying round, they earn money, which increases the further a player progresses. For example, this year, the final round prize money in the qualifying tournament is $44,0000.

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