Aug 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Open will hand out $108 million in prize money at this year's final Grand Slam, it said on Thursday, marking the largest purse in tennis history and a 20% jump from last year's total payout.
The men's and women's singles champions at the August 23 to September 13 major in New York will earn $5.5 million each, which marks a 10% increase from last year and is the largest Grand Slam payment in history for a main draw singles champion.
The compensation package also includes
what tournament organisers said is a Grand Slam record for first-round payouts, which this year will increase 27% to $140,000.
The announcement, which included a Player Support Program seeded with an initial $2 million commitment in 2026 that will be equally split between men and women players, was welcomed by players.
"These steps represent important progress in the ongoing conversations between players and the U.S. Open over the past 18 months," leading ATP and WTA players said in a press release issued on their behalf.
"This is a substantial increase in prize money. While this is not yet tied to an agreed revenue-sharing formula, players remain committed to that principle and will continue to work with each of the Grand Slams toward that goal."
The payout structure was revealed shortly after the sport's four biggest tournaments announced the creation of a Grand Slam Player Council that is intended to give players a voice on a range of issues like prize money.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)
