( CNN ) -- Traveling the world playing professional tennis is n't as lucrative as it appears . If you 're outside the top 100 , the consensus is that making a profit is difficult . Russia 's Dmitry Tursunov , currently ranked 30th , told CNN last year that he needed to pocket $ 200,000 a season just to break even . The players , then , will be happy to hear about another prize money boost at the U.S. Open . It seems that every grand slam nowadays increases the total on offer and the U.S. Open did n't buck the trend after announcing it will pay out a tournament record $ 3 million to singles winners in September at Flushing Meadows . Ten years ago , Roger Federer took home $ 1 million for beating Lleyton Hewitt in the men 's final . Based on current conversion rates , the $ 3 million is slightly less than the Â£1.76 million ( $ 3.01 million ) dished out to the singles champions at Wimbledon last weekend . Wimbledon and the U.S. Open lead the way in prize money of the four majors . The U.S. Open is also handing out double-digit raises in each round of the singles , something lower-ranked players will be particularly pleased about . Overall , prize money climbs to a tournament record $ 38.3 million . `` Last year , to recognize the importance of the players and the key role they have in building our sport , the USTA shared our vision to reach $ 50 million in prize money at the U.S. Open by 2017 , '' Dave Haggerty , the USTA 's chairman of the board and president , said in a statement Wednesday . `` This year 's prize money increase continues the commitment to make the U.S. Open one of the most lucrative purses in all of sports . '' Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the defending champions at the U.S. Open , which begins August 25 .
Singles winners at the Russia Open tennis tournament will receive $ 3 million . Ten years ago Roger Federer took home $ 38.3 million for bagging the title . Total prize money in 2013 climbs to $ 38.3 million , an increase of 11.7 % from 2014 . Each round in the singles competition sees double-digit rises .