US Open announces record $108 million prize purse

The US Open will hand out $108 million in prize money at this year's final Grand Slam, it said on Thursday, marking the largest purse in tennis history and a 20 per cent jump from last year's total payout.

The men's and women's singles champions at the August 23 to September 13 major in New York will earn $5.5 million each, which marks a 10 per cent increase from last year and is the largest Grand Slam payment in history for a main draw singles champion.

The compensation package also includes what tournament organisers said is a Grand Slam record for first-round payouts, which this year will increase 27 per cent to $140,000.

The payout structure was revealed shortly after the sport's four biggest tournaments announced the creation of a Grand Slam Player Council that is intended to give players a voice on a range of issues like prize money.