Alexander Zverev is the new US Open champion. The German defeated american Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in 3 hours and 37 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in front of almost 24,000 spectators. Zverev hit nine aces, 35 winners and won 85% of points behind his first serve, claiming his second Grand Slam title of the season after Roland Garros.
Shelton, playing his first major final, became the first Black American man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. The tournament’s global reach is enormous: the USTA says the 2025 US Open was watched by more than 200 million people across over 200 countries and territories, although a final-only global audience figure for the 2026 Zverev-Shelton match has not yet been released.
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Two very different roads to the final
Zverev’s path was initially much harder than expected. The top seed needed five sets against Lorenzo Sonego and Quentin Halys in his opening two rounds, before becoming increasingly dominant and eventually reaching the final without facing a Top 20 seed. Shelton, by contrast, faced a much stronger sequence of opponents: Tallon Griekspoor, Denis Shapovalov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe. His quarter-final against defending champion Alcaraz became the latest-finishing match in US Open history, ending at 3:33 a.m. after four hours and 28 minutes.
Tiafoe then fell in the semi-final. Elsewhere in the draw, Novak Djokovic suffered a first-round defeat to Mariano Navone, while Daniil Medvedev was eliminated by Tiafoe in the fourth round. Italy’s Matteo Berrettini defeated Stan Wawrinka, ending the Swiss champion’s final US Open appearance after 63 singles matches in New York. The tournament was also missing world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who withdrew because of injury.
A record $108 million prize pool
The 2026 US Open set a new record with dollars 108 million in total player compensation, 20% more than the previous year. Zverev and women’s champion Elena Rybakina each received dollars 5.5 million, the largest singles winner’s prize in Grand Slam history. Shelton and women’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka earned dollars 2.8 million each. The prize money remains identical for men’s and women’s singles.
Players eliminated in the first round received dollars 140,000, while the amounts rose to dollars 215,000 in the second round, dollars 285,000 in the third, dollars 430,000 in the fourth, dollars 780,000 for quarter-finalists and dollars 1.45 million for semi-finalists. Rybakina defeated two-time defending champion Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, taking both the title and the world No. 1 ranking.
More than a tennis tournament
The US Open is also a major economic engine for New York City. The USTA estimates that the tournament generates more than dollars 1.2 billion in annual economic impact and supports more than 7,000 jobs. In 2025, almost 1.2 million people attended the event, while Fan Week alone attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. The business extends well beyond ticket sales: sponsors activate their brands across the complex, fans spend money on food and drinks, official clothing and merchandise, while hotels, restaurants, taxis, ride-hailing services and other businesses across New York benefit from the influx of visitors.
The tournament has also become a major entertainment platform, with concerts, exhibitions, mixed doubles, hospitality areas and brand activations. Even its signature Honey Deuce cocktail has become a commercial phenomenon, with sales rising 32% in 2025. The USTA is simultaneously investing dollars 800 million in the transformation of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Ronaldo, Hollywood and the stars of New York
The stands at Flushing Meadows have become almost as important as the court. Ronaldo was a recurring presence throughout the tournament and attended the final days with Celina Locks. The celebrity list also included actors Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Rami Malek, Ben Stiller, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Courteney Cox, while singers and performers such as Leon Bridges, Lea Michele and Coco Jones were also spotted at the event.
Sport was equally well represented, with NBA stars Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns, Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn and other major athletes attending matches. Political and cultural figures also appeared in the stands, including Michelle Obama earlier in the tournament. The result is a sporting event that increasingly operates as a meeting point between tennis, entertainment, fashion, advertising and celebrity culture — one of the reasons why the US Open has become much more than the final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season.
