2016 US Open (tennis)


The 2016 US Open was the 136th edition of tennis' US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It took place on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
In the men's singles competition, Stan Wawrinka defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final.
Angelique Kerber defeated Karolína Plíšková in the women's singles to become the first German player to win the tournament since Steffi Graf in 1996. 2015 women's singles champion Flavia Pennetta did not defend her title as she had retired at the end of the 2015 season.
This tournament turned out to be the last one in the career of former No.1 player in the world and 2008 French Open women's singles champion Ana Ivanovic, who announced her retirement from professional tennis at the end of the year.

Tournament

The 2016 US Open was the 136th edition of the tournament and it was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.
The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation and was part of the 2016 ATP World Tour and the 2016 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consists of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event. There are also singles and doubles events for both boys and girls, which is part of the Grade A category of tournaments.
In addition, the annual men's and women's Champions Invitational doubles events were held, with eight male and eight female former Grand Slam champions taking part. For the third year running, the American Collegiate Invitational competitions were organized, where top sixteen American collegiate players compete in men's and women's singles events. Exhibition matches also took place.
Due to the 2016 Summer Paralympics, no usual singles, doubles and quad events for men's and women's wheelchair tennis players as part of the UNIQLO tour under the Grand Slam category were played.
The tournament was played on hard courts and took place on a series of 17 courts with DecoTurf surface, including the three main showcourts – Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the new Grandstand. It was the first US Open played on courts with operational roofs: on centre court and on the newly built Grandstand stadium. The Ashe roof was expected to be used only for rain, unlike the Australian Open, which also closes its roof in cases of extreme heat. It was also the last tournament before the demolition of Louis Armstrong Stadium and the old Grandstand. Arthur Ashe Stadium and the new Grandstand would be the existing main stadiums for the 2017 edition.
For the second year running, the US Open was scheduled across 14 days, rather than the 15-day schedule of 2013 and 2014, which impacted all senior events. Women's singles semifinals have been scheduled for September 8 evening session, while men's singles semifinal matches was played on Friday September 9. The men's doubles final was played before the women's singles final on Saturday, September 10, and the men's singles final followed the women's doubles final on Sunday, September 11.

Broadcast

In the United States, the 2016 US Open was the second under a new, 11-year, $825 million contract with ESPN, in which the broadcaster holds exclusive rights to the entire tournament and the US Open Series. This means that the tournament was not available on broadcast television. This also makes ESPN the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for three of the four tennis majors.
Live action from a total of twelve courts was available this year, an increase from eleven in 2015.

Point and prize money distribution

Point distribution

Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.

Senior

Junior

Prize money

The total prize-money compensation for the 2016 US Open is $46.3 million, a 10% increase on the same total last year. Of that total, a record $3.5 million goes to both the men's and women's singles champions. This made the US Open the most lucrative and highest paying tennis grand slam in the world, leapfrogging Wimbledon in total prize money fund. Prize money for the US Open qualifying tournament is also up 10 percent, to $1.9 million.
EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128Q3Q2Q1
Singles$3,500,000$1,750,000$875,000$450,000$235,000$140,000$77,188$43,313$16,350$10,900$5,606
Doubles $625,000$310,000$150,000$75,000$40,000$24,500$15,141
Mixed Doubles $150,000$70,000$30,000$15,000$10,000$5,000

On top of listed above, $600,000 will contribute Champions Invitational events prize money, while $1,478,000 is estimated as players' per diem. A total of men's and women's singles prize money will account for more than 78% of total player compensation, while doubles and mixed doubles – for 12% and 1%, respectively.

Bonus prize money

The top three men's and top three women's finishers in the 2016 US Open Series also earn bonus prize money at the US Open, with the champions of the Series Bonus Challenge having the opportunity to win $1 million in addition to their tournament prize money.

Singles players

;2016 US Open – Men's Singles
;2016 US Open – Women's Singles

Day-by-day summaries

Before the tournament

Seeds are based on the ATP and WTA rankings as of 22 August 2016. Rank and points before are as of 29 August 2016.

Men's Singles">2016 US Open – Men's Singles">Men's Singles

The following players would have been seeded, but they withdrew from the event.
RankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints afterWithdrawal reason
4 Roger Federer4,9451,2003,745Knee injury
8 Tomáš Berdych3,5701803,390Appendicitis

Women's Singles">2016 US Open – Women's Singles">Women's Singles

The following players would have been seeded, but they withdrew or not entered from the event.
RankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints afterWithdrawal reason
7 Victoria Azarenka3,5514303,121Pregnancy
25 Sloane Stephens1,612101,602Right foot injury

Doubles seeds

Men's Doubles">2016 US Open – Men's Doubles">Men's Doubles

The following players were given wildcards to the main draw based on internal selection and recent performances.

Men's Singles

The qualifying competitions took place at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on 23 – 26 August 2016.

Men's Singles

  1. Alessandro Giannessi
  2. Christian Harrison
  3. Karen Khachanov
  4. Guido Andreozzi
  5. Jan Šátral
  6. Steve Darcis
  7. Márton Fucsovics
  8. Thomas Fabbiano
  9. Radek Štěpánek
  10. Guilherme Clezar
  11. Ryan Harrison
  12. Ilya Ivashka
  13. Saketh Myneni
  14. Jared Donaldson
  15. Marco Chiudinelli
  16. Mischa Zverev

    Lucky Losers

  17. Jozef Kovalík
  18. Daniel Brands

    Women's Singles

  19. Kristína Kučová
  20. Duan Yingying
  21. Montserrat González
  22. Nadia Podoroska
  23. Elise Mertens
  24. Mandy Minella
  25. Catherine Bellis
  26. Wang Yafan
  27. Taylor Townsend
  28. Jessica Pegula
  29. Ana Bogdan
  30. Barbara Haas
  31. Richèl Hogenkamp
  32. Antonia Lottner
  33. Laura Robson
  34. Aleksandra Krunić

    Lucky Loser

  35. Alison Van Uytvanck

    Protected ranking

The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:
; Men's Singles
; Women's Singles
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament but withdrew with injuries, suspensions and other reasons.
; Men's Singles
; Before the tournament
;During the tournament
; Women's Singles
; Before the tournament
; Men's Singles
; Women's Singles

Seniors

Men's Singles

The two players had met 23 times prior, with Djokovic winning on 19 occasions. This was Wawrinka's first appearance in the final of the tournament. Defending champion Djokovic started well, taking Wawrinka's first service game. Djokovic lost an opportunity to serve out the first set, and the set went into a tie-break. There Wawrinka won the third point but lost another seven, and Djokovic took the first set. In the second set, Wawrinka broke first to lead 3–1. Djokovic broke back and held serve to draw at 4–4, but lost his subsequent serve to allow Wawrinka to take the second set 6–4. Djokovic soon trailed 3–0 at the beginning of the third set but levelled it at 5–5. Wawrinka again broke serve in the final game to take the third set 7–5. Wawrinka started the fourth set like the last two, breaking Djokovic's first service game to lead 3–0. Djokovic received two medical timeouts midway through but was unable to prevent Wawrinka from winning the set 6–3 and his first US Open title.

Women's Singles

Kerber started the match as favorite to win, having assured the No. 1 women's ranking on 12 September. Plíšková reached her first grand slam final, having never previously made it past the third round, by beating home favorite Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Kerber started strongly, breaking Plíšková's first service game and won the first set 6–3 with another break in serve. Plíšková fought back, breaking midway into the second set to take it into a deciding set. In the third set, Plíšková broke Kerber's second service game to lead, before Kerber levelled the set at 3–3. With the match at 5–4, Plíšková served to stay in the match but Kerber won it in a love game to secure her first US Open title.

Men's Doubles

Boys' Singles

Men's Champions Doubles