Tiley says record US Open prize money aimed at giving players 'fair share'

Aug 29 : The decision to increase prize money for this year's U.S. Open was aimed at ensuring players received their "fair share" of the tournament's revenues, newly appointed U.S. Tennis Association chief executive Craig Tiley said on Saturday.

The U.S. Open announced a record purse of $108 million, the largest in tennis history, amid growing calls for greater compensation from the sport's biggest events.

Several leading players including Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka renewed demands for Grand Slam events to increase the percentage of revenue distributed as prize money, and also limited their pre-tournament media availabilities at the French Open and Wimbledon as part of a protest.

Tiley, who took over as USTA CEO in February after a long stint leading Tennis Australia, said player compensation had been a priority throughout his career.

"I have always believed the players should be paid well, and I think they should be paid their fair share," Tiley told reporters on Saturday.

"The role I played in my previous role was the same thing. We pushed the player compensation package at the Australian Open. The same thing has happened here and will continue to happen at the USTA."

The men's and women's singles champions will each receive $5.5 million, a 10 per cent increase from last year and the highest payout ever awarded to a Grand Slam singles winner. First-round losers in the singles draw will earn $140,000, a 27 per cent increase that the USTA said was also a Grand Slam record.

Tiley said the total package extended beyond prize money.

"We've also added additional player gift of an Uber voucher of $2,500 and an American Express card with $1,000 credit on it. So we're giving them additional things on top of the total