Is US Open the Richest Grand Slam in Tennis?

The US Open is the fourth and the last grand slam tournament of the season. It is reportedly the richest grand slam in tennis in terms of sponsors revenue. From the past several years, the US Open has been offering the highest prize money to its participants.

The US Open is also the richest grand slam in tennis when it comes to rights deals. According to a report, most numbers of expensive rights deals in grand slams belong to the US Open. Five out of 10 most expensive deals which are possessed by the American major are valued to be around $67 million.

The Wimbledon Championships and the Australian Open have two deals that made it to the top 10. While Roland Garros only has one of its deals in the list.

JP Morgan Chase has made the top deal with the US Open with a $20 million yearly agreement. JP Morgan Chase has been the prime sponsorer for the event since 2005 and recently signed a new three-year deal in 2018. Emirates ($17M), American Express ($10M), Mercedes-Benz (10M) and Rolex ($10M) also have a deal with the US Open.

Recently the organisers of US Open also announced that the prize money for this year’s event had been increased to $57 million, making it the richest Grand Slam tennis tournament in history. Both the men’s and women’s singles champion will take $3,850,000 home. Also, the prize money for the runner-up has been increased  $50,000 compared to last year. Each Runners-up will receive $1,900,000 in this year’s event.

“The US Open prides itself on offering the best tennis players in the world the richest total prize money in our sport,” USTA Chairman Patrick Galbraith said in a statement.

He added, “We strive to be innovative, and feel that our new contribution of $500,000 to both the ATP’s pension plan and the WTA Tour’s transition programs for players will go a long way toward the long-term financial well-being of all of our sport’s athletes.”