US Open Series Introduces Scoring System That Increases US Open Prize Money
The launch of the US Open Series – a summer tennis season for men and women that links ten hard-court events into one cohesive group of tournaments leading into the US Open – brings many historic breakthroughs into the world of professional tennis.
For fans, the US Open Series will establish a regular, weekly broadcast of 100 hours of prime-time tennis on live, national television over a six-week period right before the two week coverage of the US Open.
For players, the combined tournaments will also include a unique bonus point system, in which the top performers will incrementally multiply the prize money they earn at the subsequent US Open.
Starting this year, the US Open Series will award players with a certain amount of points per tournament, and based on those totals, the top three men’s and top three women’s finishers of the summer series will increase their prize money won at the US Open.
In 2004, the men’s and women’s US Open Series winner will each be playing for an additional 50% bonus of their prize money at the US Open, while the second place finishers in the series will play for an additional 25%, and the third place finishers awarded an additional 10%.
Then in 2005, the bonuses will increase. In fact, next year’s US Open Series winners will be playing for double the prize money in the subsequent US Open. The second place finishers in the 2005 US Open Series will receive an additional 50% of their 2005 US Open prize money, and third place will jump up to 25%.
Using the men as an example, let’s assume world No.1 Roger Federer, world No. 2 Andy Roddick and world No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero finish the 2004 US Open Series in the order they are currently ranked. That would mean that when the 2004 US Open is completed, Federer would increase his prize money by 50%, Roddick would increase his by 25%, and Ferrero by 10%.
If the three men followed suit in 2005, Federer would double his 2005 US Open winnings, while Roddick would increase his prize money by 50%, and Ferrero by 25%.
The US Open Series will officially begin on July 12, with the top men playing in the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles and the top women at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, and will continue over the ensuing six weeks leading into the US Open.