U.S. Open’s 50th Anniversary of Equal Pay
The U.S. Open Tennis Championships start Monday after four consecutive days of qualifying matches that began on Aug. 22.
The last Grand Slam competition of the year, which concludes on Sept. 10, has been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. It’s home to Arthur Ashe Stadium – the largest tennis-specific stadium in the world.
The tournament, which was established in 1881, has been on a hardcourt surface since 1978.
The total prize purse of this year’s event is $65 million – a record for the tournament and about $5 million more than last year. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the tournament becoming the first tennis event to pay men and women equally. Both the men and women’s singles winner with receive $3 million each, which is down from the $3.9 million each winner received pre-pandemic in 2019.
The women play best-of-three-set matches, and the men play best-of-five-set matches. The competition is the only Grand Slam to use a tiebreaker at 6-6 in the final set.
The Finals schedule is as follows:
- Sept. 8 at 12 p.m. ET: Men’s Doubles Finals (or Mixed Doubles Final)
- Sept. 9 at 12 p.m. ET: Mixed Doubles Final (or Men’s Doubles Final)
- Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. ET: Women’s Final
- Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. ET: Women’s Doubles Final
- Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. ET: Men’s Final
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz – who’s seeded first this year – became the youngest player to win a men’s U.S. Open title since 1990. Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who’s currently ranked No. 1, won the women’s title in 2022.
Fans looking to attend any matchups – and even those just craving a Honey Deuce – can get tickets here. The tournament will also be aired on ESPN’s family of networks.
Photo credit: Mike Lawrence/USTA/US Open
