Aryna Sabalenka earns highest prize money in women's tennis history at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka had more than one reason to celebrate after winning the 2025 US Open due to the unprecedented prize money she received.

Sabalenka became the first WTA or ATP player to defend the US Open title by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 in the final. She played a rock-solid match and made far fewer unforced errors than her opponent.

That meant Sabalenka avoided going an entire season without winning a Grand Slam for the first time since 2022. She lost this year's Australian Open and French Open finals to Madison Keys and Coco Gauff in three sets.

The US Open's organizers made a concerted effort at the 2025 edition to increase the financial rewards for players. Those who lost in the opening round received $110,000 despite not winning a main-draw match.

However, that amount was scant compared to what Sabalenka and the men's singles winner Carlos Alcaraz earned. They walked away from New York with an incredible $5,000,000 for being the best singles players.

Although an incredible reward, that is not the highest prize money given to a male player in tennis history. Jannik Sinner, who lost the US Open final to Alcaraz, collected $6 million for triumphing at the 2024 Six Kings Slam.

However, it is the highest amount ever handed to a WTA player. The $4,805,000 Coco Gauff earned for winning the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh was the most impressive before being eclipsed by the US Open upping its prize money.

It will be interesting to observe whether the 2025 WTA Finals, which will be held in Riyadh again, increases its prize money to a new record. That would probably be important to the Saudi government, which has used lucrative financial opportunities as its biggest selling point.

The US Open's prize money increase might have been caused by twenty of the biggest names from the ATP and WTA Tours signing a letter earlier this year that included a section about the low percentage of the total revenue players get from Grand Slams compared to other sports.

A higher share of the revenue generated is one of many changes some players would like to see, such as a less congested calendar and more time to play exhibitions and lower-pressure events.

Sabalenka has been the WTA world No. 1 since October 2024. If the Belarusian did not reach the US Open quarterfinal, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek had a mathematical chance of overtaking her by winning the title.

However, the last time Sabalenka did not get that far at a Grand Slam she competed in was the 2022 French Open. Therefore, the four-time major winner retaining her spot did not come as a significant surprise.

This year's French Open winner, Gauff, fell in the fourth round to Naomi Osaka, while Swiatek was beaten by Amanda Anisimova. The American got revenge after losing to the Pole in the Wimbledon final.

Swiatek has a better chance of overtaking Sabalenka before the end of 2025 than Gauff because the American will defend points from winning last year's WTA Finals and China Open.