Roger Federer won an incredible 20 Grand Slams in his career and 5 of those alone came at the US Open Championships. He remains a trailblazer of sorts when it comes to dominating in New York City, since no other player has seen more success more than Federer in the last 25 years. Only his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal comes a close second with 4 wins. Otherwise, Federer managed to join an elite club of 5-time champions in men’s singles, featuring Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors.
The Swiss maestro had seen a once in a generation peak, having clinched the title for five consecutive years in a row from 2004 to 2008. And when any player wins in the United States, everybody knows they win big in terms of both respect and finances. Prior to the 2004 win, Roger Federer had not seen so much money coming in from winning one tournament.
Roger Federer is 1st non-US men’s player to win $1 million at US Open
When Roger Federer won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon 2004, it was the first time when he took home a whopping $1.08 million for winning a Grand Slam. Prior to that, the highest prize money he had won was at the Tennis Masters Cup (now the ATP World Tour Finals) back in 2003. Federer had famously beaten the American legend, Andre Agassi in the final to bag a huge pay check of $1.52 million.
Federer seemed to be there at his best at the right time and ‘places’ if it is fair to say so. So when he won the US Open title, he was rewarded with a huge $1 million cheque. This turned out to be extremely significant since he became the first player not from the United States to win this historic prize money amount at the American Slam. The player to have achieved this first was Andy Roddick, who had won a then record $1 million for winning the 2003 US Open title on home soil in style.
The 2004 Roger Federer win also marked a new era of players coming outside of the United States to rule men’s tennis, which includes the US Open. And subsequently, they became multi-millionaires thanks to a strong US dollar value in foreign exchange. Prior to Federer, players such as John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were serial winners in Grand Slams and big-ticket tournaments alike. However, after Federer, no American men’s singles player has won any Grand Slam in 19 years, let alone in New York City.
Roger Federer enjoyed a great run being champion for 5 years, as he earned a huge $7.1 million for his stupendous performances. Notably in 2007, besides gaining $1.4 million for being the Grand Slam champion, the Swiss star was also rewarded with another $1 million due to scoring the most number of points in the US Open series, also known as the North American swing. It was Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro who broke Federer’s streak by beating him in the 2009 final, taking home a sweet $1.6 million.
How has US Open prize money evolved after the 2004 Federer win?
From 2004 to 2012, the USTA increased the prize money for the men’s singles champion each year by $100,000 approximately. Like 2003, 2013 was a landmark year in the financial scheme of things since the organizers announced that for the first time, the champion stood to earn a remarkable $2.6 million. Even the overall tournament prize money shot up to $34.3 million, making it by far the most lucrative and sought-after tournaments for players to participate and win in.
Rafael Nadal was the first player to win that $2.6 million amount. That amount shot up to $3 million in 2014 and that went to Croatia’s Marin Cilic. Followed by which the prize amount money added up to $3.3 million in 2015, $3.5 million in 2016, $3.7 million in 2017, $3.8 million in 2018 and $3.85 million in 2019.
The 2019 edition was won once again by Nadal and so far, that is the highest prize money any men’s player has won in New York City till date. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, that amount dropped back to the 2014 levels of $3 million in 2020, although it was still the highest-paying out of all 4 Grand Slams. Unfortunately, in 2021, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev could only take home $2.5 million since the tournament had taken a hit with sponsors not willing to invest that year.
But things started to slightly look up in 2022, which meant that a young, 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz from Spain earned the same amount his idol and countryman, Nadal earned in 2013. After a $2.6 million payout, Alcaraz would be aiming for a $3 million one this year in 2023 at the upcoming Championships.
