The US Open opens on Sunday and will see many of the sport’s top players in action at Flushing Meadows over the next two weeks. Defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner begins his title defense against Vit Kopriva, while 2022 women’s titlist Aryna Sabalenka takes on Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
The final Grand Slam of the year is also breaking records, with a record purse of $90 million — including a $5 million winner’s share for both men’s and women’s singles winners. The prize money is the highest ever for a tennis event and more than doubles the amount of money that was available last year, when the US Open set a record for total player compensation.
This year’s tournament will feature 15 days of singles competition, starting a day earlier than usual. The change is part of an effort to increase ticket sales and boost television ratings for the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Nicole Kankam, the USTA’s managing director of pro tennis marketing and entertainment, joined “Mornings On 1” to discuss the changes this week ahead of Fan Week.
The US Open is the fourth and final of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments and is held annually at the iconic venue, which opened in 1978. It is one of the most popular events in tennis, and its acrylic hardcourts are among the most recognizable courts in the world. It began in Newport in 1881 and moved to New York in 1904. This year, the tournament runs from August 24 through September 7. The US Open is one of the sport’s most prestigious events and is played on the same court every year.