ESPN

As the 2025 US Open celebrated 75 years of Breaking Barriers, it also celebrated new champions and competition milestones, breaking records for attendance, viewership and digital reach, and engaging more people in tennis than ever before. Athletes received the largest player compensation in professional tennis history, and mixed doubles players competed for the first time in front of sold-out crowds as the reimagined Mixed Doubles Championship drove a two-day sellout in Arthur Ashe Stadium, with an additional 20,000 fans watching for free in Louis Armstrong Stadium.   The US Open became the most viewed tennis telecast of the year on ESPN and broke records with billions of digital interactions. Double digit growth in F&B and merchandise sales underscored fan enjoyment on the grounds over the three week tournament.   

“What we achieved together over these three incredible weeks is a reminder of the power of sport and the extraordinary potential still waiting to be unlocked in tennis. I’m deeply proud and profoundly grateful to everyone — our fans, players, partners, staff, volunteers and community leaders — who made this year’s tournament not just a celebration of tennis, but a force for good, bringing the benefits of the world’s healthiest sport to more people and places than ever before,” said Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive of Pro Tennis and US Open Tournament Director. “This year’s US Open truly embodied the spirit of ‘Spectacular,’ surpassing expectations and setting new records across the board — from fan engagement and player impact to partner success that inspired a love for tennis to grow the sport at the community level.”

Specific record-setting highlights from the 2025 US Open include:

Historic Champions and American Player On-Court Success

• Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka each added to their growing legacies by winning the Men’s and Women’s Singles Championships. Alcaraz, at just 22, became the youngest men’s player in the Open Era to win six major singles titles. Sabalenka, meanwhile, became the first women’s player to win back-to-back US Open singles titles since Serena Williams won three in a row from 2012 to 2014.
• Amanda Anisimova reached her second consecutive major singles final and extended the streak of American women to reach a Grand Slam singles final to five straight majors. Other notable American results included Taylor Townsend reaching the women’s doubles final for the second time in her career, as well as the women’s singles fourth round – a career-best Grand Slam singles performance, while Taylor Fritz followed up his run to the 2024 men’s singles final with an appearance in the quarterfinals. 
• Mixed Doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori; Men’s Doubles champions Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers and Women’s Doubles Champions Gabi Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe all took home $1 million as teams – record prize money for US Open doubles and mixed doubles champions.
• This year’s Wheelchair Championships included 19-year-old Japanese wheelchair tennis star Tokito Oda winning his first US Open men’s singles title, completing the career “Golden Slam” and becoming the youngest wheelchair tennis player to accomplish the historic milestone. Elsewhere, Japan’s Yui Kamiji won her third women’s singles title, while Dutchman Niels Vink secured his second quad singles trophy. Doubles winners included: Gustavo Fernandez and Tokito Oda in the men’s, China’s Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying in women’s, and Guy Sasson and Niels Vink in the quad division.
• Long Island’s Jack Kennedy and Southern California’s Keaton Hance won the boys’ doubles title in an all-American matchup. In the junior wheelchair competition, Colorado’s Sabina Czauz swept the girls’ singles and doubles titles, becoming the first American to accomplish the feat since the junior wheelchair event was introduced in 2022.

Largest Player Compensation in Professional Tennis History

The USTA awarded the largest purse in professional tennis history at the 2025 US Open, making it the first tennis event to offer $90 million in total player compensation. This amount topped the total $75 million in 2024, the previous highest player compensation in tennis history, an increase of 20 percent.  Men’s and Women’s Singles Champions at the 2025 US Open each earned $5 million, up 39 percent from the $3.6 million in 2024, making it the largest winning payout in the sport.  For the first time ever, the winning teams from the Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles Championships each earned $1 million in prize money. Men’s and Women’s Doubles purses also were significantly increased in an effort to support the players competing in these championships, up 23 percent to $4.78 million from $3.89 million in 2024.  The Men’s and Women’s Qualifying tournaments’ prize money was increased to a record $8 million, up 10 percent for this year.

Sellout Crowds for the Mixed Doubles Championship for the First Time

The US Open Mixed Doubles Championship presented by Vital Proteins drew 78,000 fans to the grounds over August 19 and 20, drove a two-day sellout in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and more than 20,000 fans scanned their Fan Access Pass to watch the matches for free in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday. The new mixed doubles format averaged 343,000 viewers across ESPN/ESPN2. The two-day championship brought mixed doubles competition to more fans than ever before, airing across 17 networks in over 170 countries and territories, with 325,000 fans watching on ESPN’s properties.

Groundbreaking Attendance and Fan Access Pass Signups 

The full, three-week attendance of 1,144,562 was a 9-percent increase over 2024. This is the second consecutive year the US Open surpassed one million attendees.  Main Draw singles and men’s and women’s doubles attendance – which included 27 sessions over 15 days and the first weekend start in the Open Era – eclipsed 900,000 for the first time, with 905,255 attendees – also a 9-percent increase over 2024. Fan Week attendance (239,307) was up 10 percent.

US Open Fan Week continued to grow in fan engagement, attendance and activations. This included a record 240,000 sign-ups for US Open Fan Access Pass, giving these individuals the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities throughout the week, and the entirety of the US Open. In addition, new offerings like the US Open Silent Disco and additional programming of the US Open Fan Week Main Stage, including on-site podcasts throughout the week, bolstered the experience for those in attendance.

Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year for ESPN

ESPN’s coverage of the 2025 US Open delivered standout audiences across the tournament. The 15-day event is the most-viewed tennis telecast of the year, with the Men’s Championship the highest in a decade and ESPN’s second most-viewed on record, and double-digit growth throughout all rounds. 

The Men’s Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82 percent vs. 2024, while the Women’s Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50 percent vs. 2024. The quarterfinals drew their largest audience in 10 years, and early round coverage through the Round of 16 posted its best numbers since 2022. The new Sunday start also proved a success, driving ESPN’s most-viewed Day 1 of Main Draw coverage since 2022, with audiences up nearly 83 percent year over year.

More Fans Engaged on Digital Platforms and Gaming Media than Ever Before

The US Open’s digital platforms, powered by IBM, totaled nearly 47 million visits – a 19-percent increase over 2024 – from 14 million unique devices over the event’s three weeks.  The US Open’s official social media channels achieved 3.1 billion total interactions – surpassing the 3 billion mark for the first time and growing by 34 percent over 2024.

The US Open’s video game collaborations – featured on-site at the US Open’s Advantage Arena and playable worldwide during the event – saw record numbers of players. For example, Champions of the Court on Roblox engaged over six million new players – pushing its total player count to nearly 20 million since the US Open debuted in Roblox in 2023. Champions of the Court averaged over 740,000 players per day in-event. The US Open’s activations in Fortnite engaged more than five million new players this year, with an average play time of 37 minutes per player.  Tennis Clash saw over 8.4 million matches played during the US Open.

Record Growth in Food, Beverage and Merchandise Sales

Total food and beverage sales saw a 19 percent total increase over 2024, including an all-time high 738,459 US Open Honey Deuce signature cocktails sold, representing a 32 percent increase over 2024. US Open merchandise sales also increased 27 percent year over year.

The US Open as a Platform for Growing the Game at the Grassroots Level

The USTA Foundation’s annual Opening Night Gala raised over $2.6 million to help support the more than 300 community organizations that are part of the Foundation’s flagship National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network. Andre Agassi was honored at the event with the “Serving Up Dreams” award for his efforts to give back to young people through the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education to improve public schools and invest in communities. 

The Williams Family Excellence Program was launched by the USTA Foundation in partnership with the legendary family of Venus and Serena Williams. This transformative initiative will support young people from under-resourced communities with the academic support, career pathways, and mentorship opportunities to prepare them to live their best lives both on and off the court. With a goal of reaching more than 2,500 young people ages 13 to 25 annually by the year 2035, the program will focus on post-secondary education and career development, aiming to unlock doors that too often remain closed — using tennis as a powerful catalyst for change.

Additionally, the USTA engaged nearly 1,600 kids from more than 65 different community groups from across the country to participate in its Net Generation Kids on Court program, offering kids the opportunity to play in front of fans on main competition courts.

A number of adult groups also took part in pre-match on-court activities, showcasing Red Ball Tennis throughout the event. In addition, three adaptive groups, including wheelchair participants, showcased these formats of the sport in front of the US Open crowds. Nearly 100 kids participated in pre-match coin tosses, and a select handful participated in trophy ceremonies.

Additional important milestones realized during the 2025 US Open include:

• Record Number of Celebrities and VIP Guests: The US Open hosted a record 600-plus celebrity and VIP guests this year and integrated its ‘Blue Carpet’ arrivals as live content produced for broadcast and social channels, as well as in-venue for Finals Fan Fest.  President Trump’s visit to the Men’s Singles Final made him only the second sitting president to attend the US Open following Bill Clinton in 2000.
• Record Crowds for Finals Fan Fest and Afterparty: The US Open took its Finals Fan Fest and Afterparty to another level with a DJ set by Grammy-nominated electronic music leaders ODESZA and TOKiMONSTA – with a crowd of almost 10,000 on the day of the women’s singles final.
• Sponsorship Growth and Longevity: The 2025 US Open had 28 official tournament sponsors, seven of which have been US Open partners for more than 30 years. Four new partners in argenx, Clos du Bois, Dove and Vital Proteins, joined the US Open this year.
• 75 years of Breaking the Color Barrier: The 2025 theme “75 Years of Breaking Barriers,” recognized and honored the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s breaking of the sport’s color barrier at the 1950 U.S. National Championships. Illuminating this year’s theme was deeply powerful and dynamic theme art – a layered, silhouette profile of Gibson, incorporating iconic symbols emblematic of the US Open – created by Melissa Koby, the first Black theme artist in US Open history. Throughout the event, the USTA celebrated Althea Gibson’s legacy, including through on-site activations, in-stadium digital signage, and a recognition of players that followed in her footsteps and also helped to change the face of the game forever.
• 50th Anniversary of Chris Evert Winning her First US Open Title: The US Open celebrated the legacy of Chris Evert alongside the 50th anniversary of her first US Open title in 1975. She went on to win six US Open women’s singles titles and 18 Grand Slam singles titles overall as part of her Hall-of-Fame career. Evert, who currently serves as the chairperson of the USTA Foundation and as an ESPN commentator, was recognized throughout the tournament on both US Open and ESPN platforms. In addition, she presented the champion’s trophy during the trophy ceremony for the women’s singles final, which also included a video tribute to Evert shown in stadium and across broadcast
• 20th Anniversary of Wheelchair Tennis: The US Open celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Wheelchair Championships this year. During the tournament, the USTA was honored by the ITF with its Brad Parks Award, in recognition of the organization’s outstanding leadership and long-term commitment to developing wheelchair tennis both nationally and globally.
• Purpose Driven Platform Unites Fans and Players Through the Power of Tennis: For the sixth consecutive year, the tournament’s purpose-driven platform “Be Open” united fans and players through the power of tennis. It engaged communities to celebrate and welcome more audiences into the sport. The platform included events, activations and panel discussions highlighting Asian American Pacific Islander culture; Latine roots; the culture, history and pride of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, via HBCU Live; the LGBTQ+ community with the ‘Open Pride;’ and our military members via Lt. Joe Hunt Military Appreciation. The US Open also provided a platform for competitors from around the globe with ambulatory impairments through its Parastanding Invitational Tournament.  The US Open hosted its third annual Champions of Equality event, honoring award-winning director, producer and screenwriter Ava DuVernay with the Billie Jean King US Open Champions of Equality award alongside a group of the game’s foremost grassroots Champions of Equality leaders from 16 USTA Sections across the country. US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster was honored with a Champions of Equality award in recognition of her decades of service to women’s tennis. During the event, DuVernay was joined by seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams for a panel discussion that was moderated by 2024 Champions of Equality honoree Shonda Rhimes.