U.S. Open Begins With More Prize Money, Expanding Facilities

The U.S. Open begins today in Flushing Meadows, and total prize money will be $34.3M, with at least 37% more "paid out in each round compared to last year." The USTA has pledged to bring total prize money to $50M by '17. Meanwhile, "player dissatisfaction over scheduling of the concluding weekend will be resolved" by '15, when the men's semifinals move to Friday. Amid ongoing improvements to Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, USTA Exec Dir & COO Gordon Smith said, "We have our Grand Slam partners to compete with, and they raise the bar every year" (London INDEPENDENT, 8/26).

More than 700,000 fans attended the event in '12, "and that number may increase this year" (N.Y. POST, 8/26).