"You wonder why players seek more revenue" - US Open making nearly $10 million revenue off Honey Deuce sales alone draws journalist's attention

The 2024 US Open kicked off with its first-round matches on August 26, Monday, and is set to conclude on September 8, Sunday, with the qualifiers held between August 19 and 22. Amid that, journalist Jon Wertheim has raised a question about why tennis players ask for higher earnings in the sport.

Notably, the 144th edition of the tournament is offering the largest prize pool in tennis history, with $75 million to its athletes, a 15 percent increase from the last edition. The men's and women's singles champions will each pocket $3.6 million in prize money, an increase from the $3 million they received last year.

Recently, a sports and business enthusiast shared on X (formerly Twitter) data about the sales of the Honey Deuce cocktail during the 2023 US Open. According to their post, approximately 450,000 Honey Deuces were sold last year at the cost of $22 each. This brought the total sales of the Honey Deuce cocktail to a whopping $9.9 million in 2023.

The data grabbed the attention of Jon Wertheim. He posted on his X account that the revenue generated through the sales of Honey Deuce raises a serious question about why tennis players seek higher earnings.

With last year's sales figures, this edition's revenue from the cocktail is expected to cover the prize money awarded to both the men’s and women’s champions. He wrote:

“Put another way: Honey Deuce sales alone will cover the prize money paid to men's and women's @USopen champions....(and you wonder why players seek more revenue)....”

In addition to the $3.6 million each being given to the individual winners, the men’s and women’s doubles winners will collect $750,000, while the mixed doubles champions will bag $200,000 at the 2024 US Open.

A look into the 2023 US Open champions

Novak Djokovic at the US Open Tennis Championship 2023. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Last year, Novak Djokovic secured his fourth US Open title after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final to win his 24th Major. He also became the oldest male tennis player to win the tournament at the age of 36 years and 111 days.

In the women’s section, Coco Gauff scripted history for the USA as she became the first teenager from the country to win the women’s singles since Serena Williams in 1999. This was also Gauff’s first Grand Slam victory as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka to claim the women's singles crown.

In the men's doubles, Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (Great Britain) emerged as the winners, while the women’s doubles title was won by Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand. Meanwhile, home favorites Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek finished as runners-up after losing to Anna Danilina and Harri Heliövaara in the mixed doubles.