US Open Tennis 2015 Prize Money: Complete Purse and Earnings from New York

Serena Williams will be playing for history when she faces unseeded Vitalia Diatchenko in the opening round of the 2015 U.S. Open on Monday.

Winning the last of this year's Grand Slam titles would allow Williams to join Steffi Graf as the only other player to complete the calendar-year Slam. Graf accomplished her one-year Grand Slam in 1988.

While Serena is playing for her legacy, it can be argued that every player in both the women's and men's draws is also playing for the same reason.

A Grand Slam title would turn a good tennis player into a great one—and a great one into a legend. Enhancing a legacy is one of the biggest reasons to succeed in any of the major tournaments.

But it's not the only reason. The top players who have qualified for this tournament have a lot to play for aside from glory and trophies. Winning the U.S. Open—or even going deep into the tournament—will pay off handsomely for the winning pros.

The prize pool in the U.S. Open is slightly more than $33 million. The winner will get $3.3 million, while the runner-up will earn $1.6 million.

Finish	Winnings
Winner (1)	$3,300,000
Runner-Up (1)	$1,600,000
Semifinalists (2)	$805,000
Quarterfinalists (4)	$410,975
Round of 16 (8)	$213,575
Third Round (16)	$120,200
Second Round (32)	$68,600
First Round (64)	$39,500
Total (128)	$33,017,800

It seems like it's going to be difficult for any of the competitors in the women's draw to wrestle the title away from Williams. She brings a 48-2 record into the U.S. Open this year, as she has dominated the WTA Tour with her overpowering serve and brilliant return.

Maria Sharapova has regularly gone down to defeat against Williams, but she is not a potential opponent this year. Sharapova withdrew from the tournament Sunday as a result of a leg injury, per ESPN:

"

World No. 3 Maria Sharapova will be kept from the U.S. Open because of injury: http://t.co/aY6Sg2z0wI pic.twitter.com/xVYXJtnzzR

— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2015"

That same injury forced her to bow out of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati earlier this month. She had hoped to make enough of a recovery to compete in New York, but that was not the case.

The rest of the field includes Simona Halep, Belinda Bencic, Petra Kvitova, Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka. Halep, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, pushed Williams hard in Cincinnati before losing, while Bencic gave Williams one of her two defeats this year when she beat her in Toronto earlier this month.

The oddsmakers have installed Williams as a 4-5 favorite, according to Odds Shark. That's a substantial number in an individual sport. Azarenka, who has been inconsistent this year, is listed at 8-1. She is the only challenger in the field with odds better than 10-1.

Halep has odds of 10-1, while Bencic is listed at 20-1.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

The men's draw features three clear choices in Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Djokovic is listed as the favorite with odds of 11-10, while Federer is listed at 4-1, and Murray is a 7-2 betting choice. 

Djokovic has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and a victory in New York would give him three Grand Slam titles in the same year. However, Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets in the Cincinnati final, while Murray ended an eight-match losing streak to Djokovic a week earlier in Montreal.

The oddsmakers are not giving defending champion Marin Cilic much of a chance to repeat his success. He is a 50-1 underdog, while Kei Nishikori, his opponent in last year's final, has a 16-1 chance.

Rafael Nadal has struggled to find his best form through most of the 2015 season, and the oddsmakers aren't giving him much of a chance at 22-1.