For tennis lovers, very exciting and big news has come out regarding the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, US Open 2026. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has officially announced a record-breaking increase in the total prize money for this year's US Open. This time, the total prize money of the tournament has been increased by a whopping 18 million dollars i.e. about 20 percent. After this historic decision, the US Open has become the highest prize money tournament in the history of professional tennis, due to which there is a lot of enthusiasm among tennis players around the world. Singles champion will get $5.5 million (more than Rs 52 crore) Under this new prize money structure, money is going to be showered on the winners of men's and women's singles categories. The champion player who wins the singles title in the US Open 2026 will be handed a record prize money of 5.5 million dollars i.e. approximately Rs 52.66 crore in Indian currency. This is the largest prize money received by any winner in Grand Slam history. There has been a huge jump in the number of winners compared to last year, which clearly reflects the growing commercial scale of the game and the financial empowerment of the players. Total prize pool reaches 108 million dollars According to the information given by the organizers, this year the total prize pool (total player compensation) of the tournament has increased to a record figure of 108 million dollars. This is a straight 20 percent increase over last year's $90 million, and if the figures for the last two years are compared, there has been a huge jump of 44 percent. This step of the US Open has made it clear that the tournament management is fully committed to making not only the top players but also the athletes at every level associated with the sport financially strong. The players in the initial round and the runner-up also get rich benefits. This time, in the distribution of prizes, full care has been taken not only of the champions but also of the players who were eliminated in the initial round. The runner-up player in the singles final will be given $2.8 million. Apart from this, every player eliminated in the first round of the main draw will be given a huge prize money of 140,000 dollars i.e. approximately in Indian Rupees. There has also been a huge increase in the prize money of the players who have reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals, which will also provide great financial help to the low-ranked and emerging players in furthering their careers. Doubles and introduction of new player support program The prize money in singles matches as well as doubles competitions has been made attractive. The winning teams of men's, women's and mixed doubles will also get a share of the big prize money. Along with this, USTA has launched a new 'Player Support Program' initiative for the welfare of players, under which an amount of $2 million has been reserved in the initial phase. This fund will be divided equally between male and female players, which will prove helpful in their post-career and financial life security. Overall, this edition of the US Open 2026 is going to prove to be the most beneficial and historic platform for the players so far.
