US Open women's champion receives biggest winner's cheque in tennis history as staggering prize money revealed

The women’s US Open final is set to take place on Saturday evening in New York’s Flushing Meadows, with the clash set to begin at 9 pm British Standard Time.

Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to defend the crown she has held for the last two years when she comes up against Elena Rybakina as the Kazakhstani athlete attempts to deny the Belarusian her third consecutive US Open title.

While both tennis stars will have their eyes set on lifting the trophy at the end of the Grand Slam, both players will be more than aware that the champion will receive the biggest winner’s cheque in the history of the sport.

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US Open women’s champion set to earn the biggest prize pot in tennis history

The 2026 US Open has offered the largest player compensation package in tennis history, with a record £80 million available across the Grand Slam. It is a 20% increase from the prize pot last year.

Men and women will win the same prize money, so the winner of the clash between Sabalenka and Rybakina will lift a record cheque for being crowned champion this year, with the champion between Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev earning the same a day later.

The winner of the final between the World No. 1 and No. 2 will lift a cheque of around £4 million, with the runner-up earning around half of this, with it being worth £2 million.

Last year, Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, the pair that claimed the women’s and men’s singles titles respectively, took £3.7 million each at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Every player who made it into the 128-player singles draw will earn a minimum of £103,000, which is also a record for a tennis event.

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Aryna Sabalenka and fellow tennis stars’ fight for greater prize pots at Grand Slams

Throughout the 2026 season, Sabalenka, along with several other tennis stars, have been campaigning for a higher percentage of the revenue generated by the four majors, as well as benefit contributions and a greater say in areas such as scheduling.

Sabalenka has been one of the most outspoken stars about this issue, arguing that it was to help improve the welfare of lower-ranked players.

A number of top players have been in dispute with the Grand Slam tournaments for over a year after sending a signed letter requesting the Grand Slams to allocate more of their tournament revenues to prize money and contribute to player welfare initiatives.

The Belarusian believed that as World No. 1, she had to use her position to help those she claims to be fighting for.

Ahead of the French Open, she said: “I feel like the whole point here, it’s not about me. It’s about the players who are lower in the ranking, who are suffering. It’s not easy to live in this tennis world with that percentage that we are earning.

“As the world No. 1, I feel like I have to stand up and to fight for those players, for lower-level players, for players who are coming back after injuries, the upcoming generation. I feel like our point is pretty clear and pretty fair to everyone. That’s what we are all about.”

The fund at Roland Garros increased by 9.5% - but the players believed that is some way below the 22% of tournament revenue they feel they are entitled to; however, they appeared happier with the growth of prize money at the US Open.