U.S. Open aces Wimbledon for top grand slam prize money

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Open leapfrogged Wimbledon as the richest grand slam event in tennis as the United States Tennis Association announced on Tuesday a 10.5 percent prize money increase for next month's championship. The purse for the U.S. Open will hit $42.3 million (£27 million), with the men's and women's singles winners each pocketing $3.3 million. The All England Club upped the Wimbledon prize money this year by seven percent to 26.75 million pounds ($41.82m). Singles winners Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams each received 1.88 million pounds, just under $3m at the current exchange rate. With Tuesday's announcement, the U.S. Open has inched ahead, based on the current exchange rate, in what has become something of a wage race. Additionally, the top finishers in the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series of events leading up to the grand slam are eligible for bonus prize money. In 2014, women’s singles champion Serena Williams took home $4 million, the biggest single payday in tennis history. She earned $3 million as the U.S. Open singles champion and a $1 million bonus as the Open series champion. “We continue our commitment to ensure that the U.S. Open offers one of the most lucrative purses in all of sports,” USTA president and U.S. Open chairwoman Katrina Adams said in a statement. “As we have stated, total player compensation at the US Open will reach $50 million by 2017.” For 2015, the singles remuneration for each round will increase by at least 10 percent. All 128 singles entrants are guaranteed $39,500, with prize money almost doubling with each victory. The payout for the doubles competition will increase by 8.4 percent overall, with the men’s and women’s doubles champions earning $570,000, the most ever at the U.S. Open. (Reporting by Larry Fine.; Editing by Andrew Both)