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 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.
