By Brett Pollard | Disclaimer

With the 135th U.S. Open set to begin August 31st, the final Grand Slam event of 2015 is filled with an array of storylines. The story arguably taking center stage is whether Serena Williams can cap off her remarkable year by becoming the first player to win every Grand Slam tournament in the same calendar year since Steffi Graf in 1988. If Serena does not falter and continues in her dominance, she will become the sixth player to ever do so.
Just how dominant has Serena’s form been over the past few years? Currently, the differential in Williams’ ranking points over No. 2 ranked Maria Sharapova is equivalent to the distance between Sharapova and the 138th ranked player on the women’s tour. Not surprisingly, this has led to Serena being listed as the EVEN favorite for the 2015 U.S. Open odds.
But Serena is no stranger to leaving the competition far behind. At only 33 years old, Serena and her 21 Grand Slam singles titles have earned $73,293,424 in overall prize money. This is the most ever won by a women’s tennis player and doubles second place Maria Sharapova’s $35 million in career earnings. If Serena can capture this U.S. Open for the seventh time in her illustrious career, these earnings will see a “small” bump of $3.3 million in prize money.
Just how dominant has Serena’s form been over the past few years? Currently, the differential in Williams’ ranking points over No. 2 ranked Maria Sharapova is equivalent to the distance between Sharapova and the 138th ranked player on the women’s tour. Not surprisingly, this has led to Serena being listed as the EVEN favorite for the 2015 U.S. Open odds.
But Serena is no stranger to leaving the competition far behind. At only 33 years old, Serena and her 21 Grand Slam singles titles have earned $73,293,424 in overall prize money. This is the most ever won by a women’s tennis player and doubles second place Maria Sharapova’s $35 million in career earnings. If Serena can capture this U.S. Open for the seventh time in her illustrious career, these earnings will see a “small” bump of $3.3 million in prize money.

While Serena seems to defeat just about anyone she faces, one foe she may have to settle with at “deuce” is the taxman. New York, home of the 2015 U.S. Open and an income tax rate up to 8.82%, would expect Serena to serve up to them nearly $270,000 of her U.S. Open prize money. Additionally, the federal government would expect approximately $1.2 million of Serena’s prize. While these taxes will net Serena only 55% of her original winnings, Serena is spared writing the host city of New York City an additional $126,000 check. New York City generally imposes their city income taxes only on their residents providing some tax relief for the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida resident.

Writing a tax check of nearly $1.5 million for two weeks of work would be a major issue for some but for Serena, she doesn’t let even the fiercest of competitors get to her. In 2013, Serena shared what really matters to her. “…[H]alf of [my earnings] goes to Uncle Sam. I love him. I'm always giving him half my money. I never in my life have picked up a cheque, I don't play tennis for the money. I love Grand Slams.” While Serena seems amicable to her toughest opponent, this affection only goes so far. She has publicly questioned whether it was even “legal” for France, home of fellow Grand Slam – the French Open – to assess a 75% income tax rate.
While we will have to watch and see how Serena’s path to history shapes up, two things are certain at this U.S. Open. Serena will be dominating sports headlines throughout the duration and the taxman will be dominating checkbooks after the U.S. Open.
While we will have to watch and see how Serena’s path to history shapes up, two things are certain at this U.S. Open. Serena will be dominating sports headlines throughout the duration and the taxman will be dominating checkbooks after the U.S. Open.
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