US Open announces record prize fund

The winner of this year's US Open, the final Grand Slam event of the year, will receive US$1.6 million, part of a record prize fund announced by the United States Tennis Association. The total prize money for the fortnight-long event, which starts at New York's Flushing Meadows on Monday 31st August, will be US$21.6 million. It is the third successive year that the purse will have increased by over US$1 million on the previous year and represents a 5.8 per cent overall rise from 2008.

In line with the other Grand Slam tournaments, most recently Wimbledon, both the men's and women's singles champions will receive the same amount in prize money. The US Open has worked to such a policy since 1973.

The USTA also announced details of the 2009 prize money structure for the US Open Series, the umbrella name for the pre-tournament hard-court events in the United States that the USTA believes will help revitalise the sport in the country. The Open Series comprises ten North American ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments, with the first due to be staged on 20th July. A points ranking system, in use throughout the US Open Series, will see the top three male and female players entitled to share of US$2.6 million in bonus prize money at the US Open itself. World number two Rafael Nadal and Russian women's number one Dinara Safina were the winners of last year's US Open Series, though Roger Federer and Serena Williams will be the defending champions at the US Open.

Acknowledged as one of the most profitable annual sports events in the world – it generates additional prestige through celebrity attendees and is a highlight of the New York social calendar - the US Open last year had an overall attendance of 720,000. It is broadcast to 185 countries around the world. The event was recently ranked by SportsPro as the 23rd most valuable sports property in the world, with a value of US$880 million. The figure was based on annual turnover of around US$260 million and profits of around US$130 million.

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