Record purse for U.S. Open

NEW YORK, July 8 (UPI) -- The 2010 U.S. Open, the year's final major tennis tournament, will award a record $22.6 million in purses, the U.S. Tennis Association said Thursday.

The USTA said the tournament, which will run Aug. 30-Sept. 12 will pay its men's and women's singles champions $1.7 million each. Last year's winners -- Kim Clijsters and Juan Martin del Potro -- each earned $1 million.

The $22.6 million in total prize money represents a record for a tennis tournament, officials said.

The association also said the singles winners can make an additional $1 million in bonus money from the U.S. Open Series, a 10-tournament stretch linked to the U.S. Open itself.

The singles champions payout is about equal to that earned by Roger Federer and Serena Williams in winning the 2010 Australian Open. Rafael Nadal and Francesca Schiavone each took home about $1.4 million after their French Open titles in June. Nadal and Williams won about $1.5 million at Wimbledon last weekend.