Jannik Sinner is the US Open champion for the first time and the victory ensured the Italian broke through a remarkable prize money barrier for 2024.

The world No 1 came into the tournament under a cloud following his anti-doping scandal, where he escaped a ban despite two positive tests in March.

Many people thought Sinner was lucky not to be suspended but he put all that to one side to claim a second grand slam title of the year by ending Taylor Fritz’s American dream in New York.

The Italian, who beat Britain’s Jack Draper in the semi-final, won 6-3 6-4 7-5 to add this crown to the title he won in Australia.

“This title means so much,” said Sinner. “The last period of my career was not easy.

“I love tennis, I practice for this, but I realised off the court there is a life, I would like to dedicate this title to my aunt, she is really not feeling well and I don’t know how much I still have here in my life.

“It’s so nice I can share a positive moment in her life – she was a very important person in my life, and still is.”

This year’s US Open winners are earning more than the 2024 Wimbledon champions, who each took home £2.7 million, or just over $3.4 million, a bump of nearly 15% from 2023.

There has long been a debate about equal pay in tennis, with men playing best-of-five-sets and women’s matches played over three sets.

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Yet despite the difference in workload, tennis is proud of a pay structure that ensures men and women are paid the same money, after a campaign promoted by tennis legend Billie Jean King changed the game forever a little over half a century ago.

“When we dreamed about a tour, dreamed about equal prize money, we were thinking it would take a long time,” said King.

“Firstly, that any girl in this world, if she were good enough, would have a place to compete. Not play, but compete.

“Number two, to be appreciated for our accomplishments, not only our looks. And number three, really important, to be able to make a living in tennis, the sport we had such a passion to play.

“As amateurs, we used to get $14 a day. We really wanted this. We wanted it for the future generations. We knew if we did well, it would help us a little. The real happenings were going to be to the later generations.

“It was a nightmare. It was really scary. I was really scared. But I kept thinking about the future. It’s very clear now, if you know the history, they’re living our dream.”

Sinner has become the first Italian player to win the US Open and it completes an incredible year for the world No 1.

He started with a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and now he is finishing with a first US Open win, with his prize money for 2024 now at an eye-watering $10.59million.

This is the breakdown of prize money at this year’s US Open:

Winner: $3,600,000
Runners-up: $1,800,000
Semi-finals: $1,000,000
Quarter-finals: $530,000
Round of 16: $325,000
Round of 32: $215,000
Round of 64: $140,000
Round of 128: $100,000