US Open Tennis 2018 Results: Final Look at Women's Bracket and Prize Money

Naomi Osaka won her maiden Grand Slam title during Saturday's 2018 U.S. Open women's final, bringing an end to what was a controversial tournament.

Per the event's official website, the 20-year-old collected $3,800,000 for her efforts, while losing finalist Serena Williams had to settle for $1,850,000. For a full look at the final bracket, click here.

Williams was involved in several altercations with chair umpire Carlos Ramos in the second set, resulting in a game penalty and plenty of opinions after the contest. Sportswriter Sally Jenkins was one of the fiercest critics of Ramos:

Many others sided with Ramos, however. Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times broke down the three incidents, noting they were all fair calls:

Osaka ended up winning 6-2, 6-4, and it's unfortunate that the incidents somewhat overshadowed what was a phenomenal breakout performance. The starlet is regarded as one of the top talents in the sport, and she became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam.

Blessed with plenty of power and athleticism, Osaka's biggest strength may be her ability to pick her shots and vary with both speed and depth. She builds up her rallies like a veteran, and it's a rare skill players usually pick up through experience.

In the semi-finals, she beat another emerging talent, Madison Keys, and that match highlighted just how great of a place women's tennis is in right now, with so many new faces. There's incredible depth to the WTA Tour, with a host of players seemingly capable of winning every tournament they enter.

But too often, the key talking points of this year's U.S. Open came through controversy, rather than pure level of play. As shared by CNN's Jill Martin, Williams used her post-match press conference to remind everyone of another incident earlier this tournament, when Alize Cornet was penalised for changing her shirt during a match:

Williams had a fine run through the tournament, with wins over Karolina Pliskova and Anastasija Sevastova setting up her spot in the final. The 36-year-old was seeking a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, and came agonisingly close to accomplishing that feat.

The current state of women's tennis means she'll likely have another chance to do so next year, if she can hit the same level of play she did this year. None of the top seven seeded players advanced to the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open, highlighting the depth of the WTA Tour.

On the men's side, a handful of players have dominated the Grand Slams in recent years, and any given tournament, it seems almost certain one of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic will lift the trophy in the end. With Osaka, the WTA crowned three first-time champions in 2018 alone, and two more last year.

That great depth means many top players fail to advance to the latter stages of the Grand Slams. Williams has done a superb job of peaking in those tournaments this year, and if she can do the same in 2019, she'll once again have a great chance at winning No. 24.