US Open 2023: Draws, dates, prize money and what you need to know

NEW YORK -- The last Grand Slam of the season is set to kick off at the US Open next week. 

Here's a look at everything you need to know. 

When does the tournament start?

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the Hologic WTA Tour season. It is an outdoor hard-court tournament held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. 

The tournament features a 128-player singles draw, 64-player doubles draw, and 32-team mixed doubles draw. The Wilson US Open Extra Duty ball will be used.

Main-draw play begins on Monday, Aug. 28.

What is the format?

All singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches will be played in a best-of-three tiebreak-sets format. 

If the third set of a singles or doubles match reaches 6-6, a 10-point tiebreak will be played. 

In mixed doubles, a 10-point tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.

Summer recap: Gauff wins D.C. | Pegula conquers Montreal | Gauff breaks through in Cincy

When are the finals? 

The singles final will be played on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 4:00 p.m.

The doubles final will be played on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 1:00 p.m.

The mixed doubles final will be played on Saturday, Sept.9 at noon.

Who are the defending champions?

Last year, World No.1 Iga Swiatek captured her first US Open title and second Slam title of the season after defeating Ons Jabuer 6-2, 7-6(5) in the final. The title was Swiatek's first hard-court Slam title and third major of her career. This year, Swiatek added a fourth major to that overall tally after successfully defending her title at Roland Garros.

Why the US Open was an uphill climb for Iga Swiatek

In doubles, top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova completed their career Grand Slam after coming back to defeat Caty McNally and Taylor Townsend 3–6, 7–5, 6–1 in the final. 

Who are the top seeds?

Breaking down the numbers behind the US Open's top seeds

Projected Top 16 seeds:

1. Iga Swiatek
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Jessica Pegula
4. Elena Rybakina
5. Ons Jabeur
6. Coco Gauff
7. Caroline Garcia
8. Maria Sakkari
9. Marketa Vondrousova
10. Karolina Muchova
11. Petra Kvitova
12. Barbora Krejcikova
13. Daria Kasatkina
14. Liudmila Samsonova
15. Belinda Bencic
16. Veronika Kudermetova

What does the draw look like?

The singles draw was revealed on Thursday, Aug. 24 at noon. Go here for a breakdown of the top storylines.

What is the prize money and ranking points on offer?

Round 1: 10 points/$81,500
Round 2: 70 points/$123,000
Round 3: 130 points/$191,000
Round 4: 240 poiints/$284,000
Quarterfinals: 430 points/$455,000
Semifinals: 780 points/$774,000
Finalist: 1,300 points/$1,500,000
Champion: 2,000 points/$3,000,000

Key storylines

Battle for No.1: For the third consecutive Slam, the World No.1 ranking will be in play between No.1 Iga Swiatek and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek will hold the No.1 ranking for the 74th and 75th consecutive weeks in New York. To retain the top ranking, Swiatek must progress one round further than Sabalenka. 

American surge: Not since Serena and Venus Williams' heyday have a pair of Americans come into their home Slam with this much momentum. With No.3 Jessica Pegula winning Montreal and No.6 Coco Gauff taking Washington D.C. and Cincinnati, this is the first time in tour history that Americans have swept the North American hard-court summer. It's also the first time Americans have won back-to-back WTA 1000s since Serena and Venus won Cincinnati and Wuhan in 2015. The duo will also be in the mix in doubles.

Race to the WTA Finals: With the Race to the WTA Finals set to heat up after New York, the US Open is a big opportunity to get within striking distance of qualification. The top eight players on the Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard, which tallies only points won in the current season, will qualify for the year-end championships. 

Here's where things stand going into the US Open:

1. Aryna Sabalenka: 6910 points
2. Iga Swiatek: 6665 points
3. Elena Rybakina: 5346 points
4. Jessica Pegula: 4165 points
5. Coco Gauff: 3675 points
6. Marketa Vondrousova: 3231 points
7. Ons Jabeur: 2971 points
8. Karolina Muchova: 2870 points
9. Petra Kvitova: 2520 points
10. Belinda Bencic: 2331 points
11. Daria Kasatkina: 2055 points
12. Beatriz Haddad Maia: 2042 points
13. Maria Sakkari: 2032 points
14. Barbora Krejcikova: 1992 points
15. Jelena Ostapenko: 1976 points

Wozniacki returns to New York: The former No.1 kicked off her comeback this summer, going 1-2 across Montreal and Cincinnati. A two-time finalist in New York, the Dane returns for her first major appearance since the 2020 Australian Open. 

Jabeur continues her quest: The Tunisian proved at Wimbledon that she's always a contender so long as she's healthy. Last year, Jabeur made back-to-back Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. If history repeats itself this year, she'll get a fourth chance to snag that elusive major trophy.

Czech mates: Karolina Muchova stunned the field when she powered into her first major final at the French Open this spring. Her friend and training partner Marketa Vondrousova did one better a month later, becoming the first unseeded women's champion in Wimbledon history. Neither has shown any signs of a summer slump and are now in the Top 10.