# 2019 US Open (tennis)
The 2019 US Open was the 139th edition of the United States' Grand Slam tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts at the [USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/usta-billie-jean-king-national-tennis-center) in Flushing Meadows, New York, from August 26 to September 8, 2019[1](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/) • [2](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/results-archive?year=2019). [Rafael Nadal](https://www.edgepedia.org/rafael-nadal) won the men's singles title and [Bianca Andreescu](https://www.edgepedia.org/bianca-andreescu) won the women's singles title, and the tournament set an all-time attendance record of 737,872 fans[1](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/) • [3](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019-09-08_2019_us_open_sets_alltime_attendance_record.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates and site | August 26 to September 8, 2019; USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York; outdoor hard courts[1](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/) |
| Men's singles champion | Rafael Nadal, his fourth US Open title, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4[1](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/) |
| Women's singles champion | Bianca Andreescu, her first Grand Slam title, defeating Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/) |
| Attendance | 737,872 over the two weeks of the main draw, an all-time record; Arthur Ashe Stadium sold out 23 of 24 sessions[3](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019-09-08_2019_us_open_sets_alltime_attendance_record.html) |
| Prize money | $57,238,700 in total player compensation, the richest purse in tennis history at the time[5](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/6c947fd6f23047938b391725c5446647.pdf) |
| Singles winner's check | $3,850,000 per champion; $1,900,000 per runner-up[6](https://www.usopen.org/pdf/2019%20US%20Open%20Prize%20Money.pdf) |
| Women's doubles champions | Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka[7](https://www.wtatennis.com/tournaments/905/us-open/2019/past-winners) |
## Men's singles
Rafael Nadal won his fourth US Open title by defeating [Daniil Medvedev](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniil-medvedev) 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in a final that lasted four hours and 49 minutes, just five minutes shy of the longest US Open final in history[1](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/). Medvedev, aged 23, was appearing in his first Grand Slam singles final[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/). After leading by two sets to love, Nadal surrendered the next two sets; the US Open's records note that 1949 had been the last time a player lost the men's singles final from two sets up, and Medvedev's fightback took the match to a fifth set before Nadal closed it out[8](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019_us_open_by_the_numbers.html).
A win would have given Nadal his 19th Grand Slam men's singles title, moving him within one of [Roger Federer](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-federer)'s record of 20[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/). Federer himself fell earlier than hoped, losing in the quarter-finals on September 3 to [Grigor Dimitrov](https://www.edgepedia.org/grigor-dimitrov), which ended the possibility of a Federer-Nadal final[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/). Defending champion [Novak Djokovic](https://www.edgepedia.org/novak-djokovic) retired with an injury during his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka, losing his chance to repeat as champion[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/).
## Women's singles
Bianca Andreescu, a 19-year-old Canadian, defeated [Serena Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/serena-williams) 6-3, 7-5 in the women's final on Saturday, September 7, in [Arthur Ashe Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/arthur-ashe-stadium)[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/). It was Andreescu's first Grand Slam title, and she became the first player born in the 2000s to win a major; the daughter of Romanian immigrants, she had not been born when Williams won her first US Open title in 1999[9](https://time.com/5671676/serena-williams-us-open-bianca-andreescu/). The US Open's own summary notes that she tied [Monica Seles](https://www.edgepedia.org/monica-seles) as the fastest player to win a major title in terms of appearances in WTA history[8](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019_us_open_by_the_numbers.html).
Williams, 37, was attempting to equal [Margaret Court](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-court)'s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/). Trailing by a set and 1-5 in the second set, she rallied to make the match competitive before Andreescu closed it out[9](https://time.com/5671676/serena-williams-us-open-bianca-andreescu/). Unlike the previous year's final, no controversy caused ugly booing at the trophy ceremony[9](https://time.com/5671676/serena-williams-us-open-bianca-andreescu/).
The draw produced other early exits among the stars. Defending champion [Naomi Osaka](https://www.edgepedia.org/naomi-osaka) lost in the fourth round to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, and 15-year-old [Coco Gauff](https://www.edgepedia.org/coco-gauff), the breakout star of that year's Wimbledon, reached the third round before losing to Osaka[4](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/).
## Prize money
The 2019 US Open offered $57,238,700 in total player compensation, which the ATP described as the richest purse in tennis history[5](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/6c947fd6f23047938b391725c5446647.pdf). The men's and women's singles champions each earned $3,850,000 and the runners-up $1,900,000; semi-finalists received $960,000, quarter-finalists $500,000, and first-round losers in the main draw $58,000[6](https://www.usopen.org/pdf/2019%20US%20Open%20Prize%20Money.pdf). Men's and women's doubles winning teams earned $740,000 per team, and the mixed doubles champions $160,000[6](https://www.usopen.org/pdf/2019%20US%20Open%20Prize%20Money.pdf). The tournament had offered equal prize money to men and women since 1973, when it became the first sporting event to do so[10](https://apnews.com/article/8cc4b42cc856597673d105f22e71d0b4).
## Attendance
Attendance reached an all-time high of 737,872 spectators over the fortnight of main-draw play at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and Arthur Ashe Stadium filled to capacity in 23 of its 24 sessions.[3](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019-09-08_2019_us_open_sets_alltime_attendance_record.html) The previous year's total attendance had been 691,143, so the 2019 figure represented an increase of more than 46,000[11](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2018/08/23/2018-us-open-tennis-tournament-by-the-numbers/). The record stood until later editions of the tournament surpassed it[12](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2023/08/25/721-matches-405000-signature-cocktails-65-million-in-prize-money-the-2023-us-open-by-the-numbers/).
## Background: the 2018 final and its aftermath
The 2019 tournament carried the aftermath of the 2018 women's final, in which Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams amid a dispute with chair umpire Carlos Ramos over a coaching violation, a racket smash, and verbal abuse penalties that cost Williams a game[13](https://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/story/_/id/27408140/backstory-serena-naomi-osaka-most-controversial-us-open-final-history). Williams was fined $17,000 for the violations[14](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/tennis/at-us-open-power-of-serena-williams-and-naomi-osaka-is-overshadowed-by-an-umpires-power-play/2018/09/08/edbf46c8-b3b4-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html). In July 2019, Williams wrote to Osaka to apologize for her behavior in the final and said she had begun seeing a therapist[15](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/09/serena-williams-naomi-osaka-us-open-final-tennis-umpire).
For the 2019 event, tournament officials decided that Ramos would not be in the chair for a [Williams sisters](https://www.edgepedia.org/williams-sisters) match, with more than 900 other matches available for assignments[16](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/us-open-naomi-osaka-serena-williams-usta/). The coaching rule itself remained in place, and the USTA continued to lobby the other majors to approve coaching, without success[16](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/us-open-naomi-osaka-serena-williams-usta/).
## References
1. [2019 US Open results, ITF](https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament/us-open/usa/2019/m-sl-usa-01a-2019/media-and-resources/)
2. [Results Archive 2019, ATP Tour](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/results-archive?year=2019)
3. [2019 US Open sets all-time attendance record, USOpen.org](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019-09-08_2019_us_open_sets_alltime_attendance_record.html)
4. [How to Watch the 2019 U.S. Open Finals for Free, Time](https://time.com/5641513/watch-us-open-2019-free/)
5. [2019 US Open media guide, ATP Tour](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/6c947fd6f23047938b391725c5446647.pdf)
6. [2019 US Open Prize Money fact sheet, USOpen.org](https://www.usopen.org/pdf/2019%20US%20Open%20Prize%20Money.pdf)
7. [2019 US Open Tennis Championships Past Winners, WTA](https://www.wtatennis.com/tournaments/905/us-open/2019/past-winners)
8. [2019 US Open, by the numbers, USOpen.org](https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2019-09-08/2019_us_open_by_the_numbers.html)
9. [Serena Williams Keeps Fighting, But Falls Short in Another Grand Slam, Time](https://time.com/5671676/serena-williams-us-open-bianca-andreescu/)
10. [US Open honors Billie Jean King on 50th anniversary of equal prize money for women, AP](https://apnews.com/article/8cc4b42cc856597673d105f22e71d0b4)
11. [2018 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament: By the Numbers, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2018/08/23/2018-us-open-tennis-tournament-by-the-numbers/)
12. [The 2023 U.S. Open By The Numbers, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2023/08/25/721-matches-405000-signature-cocktails-65-million-in-prize-money-the-2023-us-open-by-the-numbers/)
13. [Serena, Naomi Osaka and the most controversial US Open final in history, ESPN](https://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/story/_/id/27408140/backstory-serena-naomi-osaka-most-controversial-us-open-final-history)
14. [At U.S. Open, power of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka is overshadowed by an umpire's power play, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/tennis/at-us-open-power-of-serena-williams-and-naomi-osaka-is-overshadowed-by-an-umpires-power-play/2018/09/08/edbf46c8-b3b4-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html)
15. [Serena Williams wrote to Naomi Osaka to 'find peace' after US Open final, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/09/serena-williams-naomi-osaka-us-open-final-tennis-umpire)
16. [US OPEN '19: Williams-Osaka Reverberations Felt A Year Later, CBS New York](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/us-open-naomi-osaka-serena-williams-usta/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Tennis › Tennis tournaments and circuits › Grand Slam tournaments › US Open (tennis)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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