US Open 2021 Prize Money: Winner To Bank Lower Pot This Year

The U.S. Open is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments that pit the best players in the world against each other for a title and a massive prize. This year's winner, however, will take home a much lower amount than last year’s champion.

In a statement posted in August on the U.S. Open website, officials announced that the 2021 U.S. Open will offer a record $57.5 million in total player compensation. This amount surpassed the $57.2 million given out in 2019.

But while the prize pool was increased, the singles champion’s prize money decreased from its previous $3 million to $2.5 million. Similarly, the prize money for runner-ups was also lowered to $1.25 million, from $1.5 million last year.

This was agreed upon by both players and tournament officials in order to increase the first-round main-draw prize money to $75,000, up 23% from last year.

See the round-by-round individual prize money for the 2021 U.S. Open's singles division below.

• Winner: $2,500,000
• Runner-Up: $1,250,000
• Semifinalist: $675,000
• Quarterfinalist: $425,000
• Round of 16: $265,000
• Round of 32: $180,000
• Round of 64: $115,000
• Round of 128: $75,000

To find out the round-by-round individual prize money for the 2020 U.S. Open's singles division, check out the list below.

• Winner: $3,000,000
• Runner-Up: $1,500,000
• Semifinalist: $800,000
• Quarterfinalist: $425,000
• Round of 16: $250,000
• Round of 32: $163,000
• Round of 64: $100,000
• Round of 128: $61,000

The total player compensation for the men’s and women’s singles is around $40.5 million, while the men’s and women’s doubles have a prize pool that amounts to $6.6 million. The mixed doubles have a prize pool of around $600,000, according to the tournament's 2021 compensation structure.

Last year, Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title by beating Alexander Zverev in the finals of the 2020 U.S. Open's men's singles. In the women's singles, Naomi Osaka won her second U.S. Open title when she won her finals match against Victoria Azarenka.

Rafael Nadal, one of the favorites to win this year's tournament, withdrew from the 2021 U.S. Open due to a recurring foot injury. The 20-time Grand Slam winner made the announcement via an Aug. 20 Twitter post.

On the other hand, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams earned a direct entry to the main draw of the 2021 U.S. Open on Aug. 23. The announcement came after Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens withdrew from the competition due to a left ankle injury, according to Essentially Sports.

However, Williams also later announced that she was pulling out of the tournament to recover from a torn hamstring, the New York Times reported.

During Tuesday’s matches, 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez defeated No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina. The win marks the young star’s third consecutive victory against a seeded player at the 2021 U.S. Open. Fernandez knocked out Grand Slam winners Osaka and Angelique Kerber in her first two matches, according to the Bleacher Report.

In the men’s singles, No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev edged out a win against unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp to secure his third consecutive U.S. Open victory.