All Your Little Questions About the US Open and Tennis in General, Asked and Answered

There were definitely some notable outfit and accessory choices in last year’s play, too (see: Jessica Pegula’s armpit cutouts, Sloane Stephens’s delicate diamond necklace, or Marta Kostyuk’s neon-yellow dress), but Naomi Osaka’s huge “Brat”-green bows emerged as the undisputed champion. Going into the first round of the 2024 Open, Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion (and two-time US Open winner), showed up to play Jelena Ostapenko wearing a bow-covered bomber jacket, frilly green skirt, and matching tennis dress—a custom-made, cottage-core-y collab between Nike and the Japanese designer Yoon Ahn. Even her headphones, sneakers, and tennis bag were adorned, too.

When asked about the distinctive look in her post-match interview, Osaka described it as “maximalist” and said it was inspired by Harajuku style. In the second round of the tournament (which ended in a loss to Karolina Muchova), she debuted a black version of the same getup. Speaking to The New York Times, she explained that dressing up helps boost her mental health. “When I wear what I feel is a good outfit, I definitely feel more comfortable,” she said.

6. Where do the competitors—namely women in skirts—put their tennis balls during play?

Speaking of tennis skirts, if you’ve ever donned one before, you probably already know the answer: There are discreet little pockets in most garments that can hold a few balls. Still, as SELF’s fitness director, Christa Sgobba, has complained in the past, “Our tennis uniforms in high school did not have pockets!” (So safe to say it’s not a universal requirement!)

7. So why is Wimbledon’s dress code so freaking strict?!

Get ready to roll your eyes so far back into your head that they become permanently lodged there. In an interview with BBC Culture from 2023, Robert Lake, author of A Social History of Tennis in Britain, said this: “White hides sweat the best, looks clean, sharp, and tidy, representing goodness (aesthetically) and, given cricket connections, also reflects upper-middle-class leisure historically.” (BRB, making a mental note to watch this year’s Open wearing my tackiest, most colorful Spandex outfit in a foam Statue of Liberty hat with Cowboy Carter streaming in the background.)

8. Do US Open competitors win prize money?

While the 2024 Open boasted the largest cash allotment for players in tournament history ($75 million, a 15% increase from 2023), the 2025 event sets the bar even higher: $90 million. The men’s and women’s singles champs will receive $5 million apiece, an increase of almost $1.5 million from last year’s $3.6 mil. According to Brendan McIntyre, the senior director of corporate communications for the US Open, all four Grand Slam events offer equal prize money for men and women. However, the US Open was the first to make that call (thanks in no small part to the efforts of tennis legend Billie Jean King and other activists), all the way back in 1973.

But it’s not just the victors who take home a check: Second-place winners earn $2.5 million, semifinalists earn $1.26 million, quarterfinalists earn $660,000, and so on. Even athletes who lose in the first round get a little (or not-so-little) something: $110,000. (Not bad!)

9. Do fans have to be quiet during US Open matches?

The Open’s more casual look in comparison to other big tennis tourneys is reflected in its overall attitude, too—the Arthur Ashe Stadium gets famously rowdy. “It’s the loudest and probably the most humid conditions of all center courts of all four Grand Slams,” Novak Djokovic told reporters during a press conference in 2023. That year, the Open welcomed 957,387 fans back for the 20-day event, an 8% increase in attendance from 2022—and those people like to party, often to the players’ frustration. At the 2022 tournament, Australian Nick Kyrgios claimed that a spectator smoking weed caused his asthma symptoms to kick in.