Aug 29 (Reuters) - The decision to increase prize money for this year's U.S. Open was aimed at ensuring players received their "fair share" of the tournament's revenues, newly appointed U.S. Tennis Association chief executive Craig Tiley said on Saturday.
The U.S. Open announced a record purse of $108 million, the largest in tennis history, amid growing calls for greater compensation from the sport's biggest events.
Several leading players including Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka renewed demands
for Grand Slam events to increase the percentage of revenue distributed as prize money, and also limited their pre-tournament media availabilities at the French Open and Wimbledon as part of a protest.
Tiley, who took over as USTA CEO in February after a long stint leading Tennis Australia, said player compensation had been a priority throughout his career.
"I have always believed the players should be paid well, and I think they should be paid their fair share," Tiley told reporters on Saturday.
"The role I played in my previous role was the same thing. We pushed the player compensation package at the Australian Open. The same thing has happened here and will continue to happen at the USTA."
The men's and women's singles champions will each receive $5.5 million, a 10% increase from last year and the highest payout ever awarded to a Grand Slam singles winner. First-round losers in the singles draw will earn $140,000, a 27% increase that the USTA said was also a Grand Slam record.
Tiley said the total package extended beyond prize money.
"We've also added additional player gift of an Uber voucher of $2,500 and an American Express card with $1,000 credit on it. So we're giving them additional things on top of the total compensation of 108," he said.
"You will see the U.S. Open continue to be a very player-friendly event. I think our desire to increase the amount that we put on the table was driven really within the organisation, the sense that we need to give the players a fair share."
WAWRINKA WILDCARD SAGA
Tiley also addressed the controversy surrounding Stan Wawrinka's wildcard entry after the three-time Grand Slam champion was initially left out before eventually being awarded a place in the draw following a withdrawal.
The decision had drawn criticism from fans since this is the Swiss veteran's farewell season.
Tiley said the USTA initially prioritised young American players who narrowly missed direct entry into the main draw when allocating wildcards.
"When you're just out of the draw and you're a young American up-and-coming player, you need to be given an opportunity, and that's what it was," he said.
Tiley said Wawrinka had been aware a place could open up if circumstances changed and was later offered a wildcard after Patrick Kypson withdrew.
"Stan all along knew that was the scenario," Tiley said. "It's great that he's here and he's competing."
The U.S. Open main draw begins on Sunday.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
