With Carlos Alcaraz and co., the ATP's long-awaited “changing of the guard” achieved critical mass—for some, not a moment too soon

The last Grand Slam of the tennis calendar, the US Open takes place over three weeks at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The event unofficially marks the end of summer for New York City, while on the pro tours it means the culmination of the US Open Series and the end of the North American hard-court swing.

The qualifying event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23 to Friday, August 26, 2022. Main draw play begins on Monday of the next week, and runs for two weeks from August 29 to September 11, 2022.

Tournament dates to know:

8/23 — Qualifying begins
8/25 — Main Draw Ceremony
8/26 — Qualifying ends, Media Day
8/27 — Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day
8/29 — Main draw (singles) begins
9/1 — Open Pride Day
9/8 — Women’s semifinals
9/9 — Men’s semifinals
9/10 — Women’s final
9/11 — Men’s final

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The 2022 US Open champion will pocket $2,600,000, up from last year's $2,500,000 winner's paycheck.

What is this year’s US Open prize money?

The USTA announced on Thursday that it is set to award $60.1 million in total player compensation, up from last year’s $57.5 million. It’s the biggest prize money purse at the US Open to date, crossing the $60-million mark for the first time.

But while the Grand Slam-leading figure is newsworthy enough, it’s the way the prize money is being distributed that is more intriguing. The USTA is following a larger trend in tennis by allocating more money to the earlier rounds:

2022 US Open Main Draw, Singles

Champion — $2,600,000
Runner-Up — $1,300,000
Semifinalist — $705,000
Quarterfinalist — $445,000
Round of 16 — $278,000
Round of 32 — $188,000
Round of 64 — $121,000
Round of 128 — $80,000

According to the USTA, “Main draw payouts are now set at $80,000 for the first round and $121,000 for the second round, an 85% and 57% increase since 2016, respectively.”

For comparison, here is what the distribution looked like back then, when the total US Open prize money purse was over $46.3 million:

2016 US Open Main Draw, Singles

Champion — $3,500,000
Runner-Up — $1,750,000
Semifinalist — $875,000
Quarterfinalist — $450,000
Round of 16 — $235,000
Round of 32 — $140,000
Round of 64 — $77,188
Round of 128 — $43,313

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Doubles teams will take home $688,000 for winning the US Open, up from $660,000 last year.

For doubles teams seeking Grand Slam glory, here’s how the current prize money breakdown is set:

2022 US Open Main Draw, Doubles (each team)

Champion — $688,000
Runner-Up — $344,000
Semifinalist — $172,000
Quarterfinalist — $97,500
Round of 16 — $56,400
Round of 32 — $35,800
Round of 64 — $21,300

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Venus Williams, the 2000 and 2001 champion, leads the women's singles wild cards list, which also features Sofia Kenin and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Who are the 2022 US Open players and wild cards?

According to the ITF Grand Slam rulebook, “all eligible players are automatically entered into the men's and women's singles main-draw fields based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event.”

In addition to the men’s and women’s main draw direct entries and the players who will gain entry via the qualifying tournament, the USTA also reserves a series of wild cards to be used at its own discretion, while other players will enter the event using a protected ranking.

Here are the players who got the wild card nod this year:

Women’s Singles Wild Cards

Venus Williams
Sofia Kenin
CoCo Vandeweghe
Elizabeth Mandlik (US Open Wildcard Challenge Winner)
Peyton Stearns (NCAA Singles Champion)
Eleana Yu (USTA Girls’ 18s National Champion)
Harmony Tan (Reciprocal Wild Card, France)
Jaimee Fourlis (Reciprocal Wild Card, Australia)

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Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champion, lead the men's singles wild cards list, which also features Sam Querrey and Ben Shelton.

Men’s Singles Wild Cards

Dominic Thiem
Sam Querrey
Emilio Nava
J.J. Wolf (US Open Wildcard Challenge Winner)
Ben Shelton (NCAA Singles Champion)
Learner Tien (USTA Boys’ 18s National Champion)
Ugo Humbert (Reciprocal Wild Card, France)
Rinky Hijikata (Reciprocal Wild Card, Australia)

Protected Rankings

Stan Wawrinka (22), Borna Coric (27), Kyle Edmund (48) and Aljaz Bedene (75) have also entered in the US Open men’s singles main draw using protected rankings.

In the women’s event, Serena Williams (16), Karolina Muchova (22), Nadia Podoroska (39), Laura Siegemund (57), Evgeniya Rodina (73), and Taylor Townsend (84) will be entering with protected rankings.

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