{"id":2116649,"date":"2026-08-28T17:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116649"},"modified":"2026-08-28T17:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:00:24","slug":"us-open-players-stunned-as-they-are-handed-big-financial-gifts-by-tournament-organisers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116649","title":{"rendered":"US Open players stunned as they are handed big financial gifts by tournament organisers"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">US Open players stunned as they are handed big financial gifts by tournament organisers<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/kevin-palmer\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Kevin Palmer                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"28 Aug 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"28 Aug 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1787936424\"><br \/>\n                            28 Aug 2026 6:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-players-handed-big-financial-gift\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to linkedin\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/\/send\/?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-players-handed-big-financial-gift\" aria-label=\"Share to whatsapp\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fus-open-players-handed-big-financial-gift\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"US Open players stunned as they are handed big financial gifts by tournament organisers\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                                        <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>US Open chiefs gave players competing in their qualifying a huge bonus when they handed them a huge cash gift that will help them pay for an expensive stay in New York.<\/p>\n<p>While prize money for the qualifying event has hit record levels this year after a huge increase announced by USTA chiefs, the tournaments official social media fees showed images of players being informed of their gifts.<\/p>\n<p>The bumper pack of goodies included a $2,500 Uber credit, usable for transportation around the city and meal deliveries when they are in one of the most expensive cities in the world.<\/p>\n<p>They have also been handed a $1,000 American Express gift card, giving them extra money to spend when they are in New York.<\/p>\n<p>British players Fran Jones and Heather Watson were among those who were captured on camera receiving their gift cards.<\/p>\n<h2>More Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\/us-open-announce-prize-money-for-2026-is-the-largest-package-in-tennis-history\">US Open announce prize money for 2026 is the \u2018largest package in tennis history\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-novak-djokovic-carlos-alcaraz-usopen-mixed-doubles-prize-money\">How much money did Alex Eala, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz win in the US Open mixed doubles?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This latest gesture from US Open chiefs may not be required for players at the top of the sport, with prize money expanding rapidly if you are in the top 50 of the women\u2019s or men\u2019s rankings.<\/p>\n<p>Gestures like these gift cards are more useful for lower ranked players, who have also been boosted by the expanded prize money on offer in the qualifying rounds for the US Open.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>A welcome surprise!<\/p>\n<p>Players received a $2,500 Uber credit and $1,000 American Express gift card upon arrival to New York to help cover costs as they pursue a Grand Slam title. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AjCvWGwFLK\">pic.twitter.com\/AjCvWGwFLK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 US Open Tennis (@usopen) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/usopen\/status\/2093141404960620636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A first round loser in qualifying collected a stunning $32,000 and players who went out in the third round of qualifying still went home with $66,000.<\/p>\n<p>There has been a huge discussion around prize money in tennis over the last couple of years, with leading players threatening to go on strike unless they received a bigger slice of the profits being made by the Grand Slam events.<\/p>\n<p>Those concerns appear to have been allayed by the prize money increases, as well as the introduction of a new Player Advisory Council that will give them a voice with the tournament organisers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese steps represent important progress in the ongoing conversations between players and the US Open over the past 18 months,\u201d a spokesperson for the players said, as they welcomed the prize money increases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a substantial increase in prize money. While this is not yet tied to an agreed revenue-sharing formula, players remain committed to that principle and will continue to work with each of the grand slams toward that goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlayers value the meaningful commitment to player welfare and are keen to discuss how it can grow to fully meet the needs identified in the players\u2019 July 2025 proposal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlayers have also strongly welcomed the decision by the four Grand Slams to establish a Player Advisory Council, a significant milestone, as it reflects real responsiveness on one of the requests players laid out to the Grand Slams eighteen months ago. The announcement represents a meaningful step forward in giving players a more direct and consistent voice in decisions that affect them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlayers and their representatives will now discuss the details of how the Council is composed and how it will operate, including who represents them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>US OPEN 2026 \u2014 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY<\/p>\n<p>Champion \u2014 $5,500,000<br \/>\nRunner-up \u2014 $2,800,000<br \/>\nSemi-finalist \u2014 $1,450,000<br \/>\nQuarter-finalist \u2014 $780,000<br \/>\nRound of 16 \u2014 $480,000<br \/>\nThird round \u2014 $290,000<br \/>\nSecond round \u2014 $190,000<br \/>\nFirst round \u2014 $140,000<\/p>\n<p>US OPEN 2026 \u2014 QUALIFYING<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying round 3 \u2014 $66,000<br \/>\nQualifying round 2 \u2014 $48,000<br \/>\nQualifying round 1 \u2014 $32,000<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/2026-us-open-draw-date-prize-money-zverev-alcaraz-sabalenka-gauff-headline-eala-seeded\">2026 US Open Draw Date, Prize Money: Zverev, Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Gauff headline with Eala seeded<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Open players stunned as they are handed big financial gifts by tournament organisers Kevin Palmer 28 Aug 2026 6:00 PM US Open chiefs gave players competing in their qualifying a huge bonus when they handed them a huge cash gift that will help them pay for an expensive stay in New York. While prize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2116649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2116649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2116649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2116649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2116649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}