The financial behind the scenes of the US Open-2023: record prize money, Djokovic’s leadership and criticism of late matches

The last of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the US Open, has started in the United States. This year’s draw will be the largest ever in terms of prize money and viewership, and one of the last to be broadcast by ESPN under a $770 million contract. US Open-2023 has already helped Novak Djokovic return to the first line of the ATP rankings and will seriously improve the Serb’s financial situation. We tell you what is known about the financial behind the scenes of the US Open.

Ukrainian fiasco on the first day of the tournament

Let’s start with the sad. Three Ukrainian tennis players at once – Marta Kostyuk, Ekaterina Beindl and Angelina Kalinina – flew out of the tournament in singles. Kostyuk lost to the representative of Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina in the first round US Open 2023. Katerina Beindl lost to Anna Karolina Shmidlova, and Angelina Kalinina lost to Sarah Sorribes-Tormo.

Two more representatives of Ukraine, Elina Svitolina and Lesya Tsurenko, will play in the first round of the US Open.

Prize money growth

US Open-2023 is the most profitable tournament in world tennis. Its prize fund is $65 million. The amount of prize money increased by 8% compared to last year. In addition, as noted, the size of the daily allowance, as well as compensation for air travel and accommodation, have also increased.

• First round – $ 81.5 thousand
• Second round – $ 123 thousand
• Third round – $ 191 thousand
• Fourth round – $ 284 thousand
• Quarter-final – $455 thousand
• Semi-final – $ 775 thousand
• Final – $1.5 million
• Title – $3 million

Criticism of “night” matches

One of the features of the tournament is the evening matches, introduced in the mid-1970s to increase the audience and television audience. But now these fights sometimes drag on until three in the morning, which definitely does not benefit either the players or the fans. Well-known athletes criticize late fights, but so far the organizers do not plan to refuse them.

“I understand that we need to consider and act in the interests of the broadcasters, but I asked the WTA for some data to find out if people are watching matches that start after 22:00. So far, I have not received any answer, ”admitted the first racket of the world, Iga Sventek.

Hope ESPN

Perhaps the organizers are following the lead of ESPN, which still owns the rights to show the matches of the tournament. The 2023 US Open is the ninth of 11 tournaments to be shown by the media giant’s TV channel under an 11-year, $770 million deal.

Last year, according to the broadcaster, the tournament set a record for TV viewing, this year ESPN plans to update it. The minimum task is an increase of 30%.

Djokovic is the most successful on and off the court

The Serbian tennis player, after defeating Alexander Muller in the first round of the tournament, secured a return to the first line of the ATP rating. Previously, he was inferior to Alcaraz, but now he will regain the first place, which he held for 389 weeks during his career. This is the best result in the history of professional tennis.

At the same time, Djokovic remains the most financially successful tennis player over the past year, according to Forbes. Over the past 12 months, the Serbian has earned more than 38 million dollars, of which 25 million off the court. Alcaraz has $31.4 million in revenue, while the best of the women, Iga Sventek, who is third overall, has nearly $24.5 million.

Note that the ten highest paid players have earned a total of $196 million over the past 12 months. Last year, the same figure was 38% higher. The fall is due to the retirement of Serena Williams and Roger Federer, who in 2022 earned almost $125 million in total.

The top 10 highest paid tennis players in the world include eight players under the age of 30. And for example, Naomik Osaka and Emma Radukanu’s off-court earnings are ten times their prize money.