The total prize money at the first Open Era US Open in 1968 was $100,000.
Held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills from August 29 to September 8, the tournament was the first US Open contested after tennis entered the Open Era. Professionals and amateurs could compete together, and prize money was offered for the first time.
The event was played on grass and was the 88th staging of the championship, then still closely tied to its earlier identity as the U.S. National Championships. Arthur Ashe defeated Tom Okker in the men’s final, while Virginia Wade won the women’s title.
A notable detail is that Ashe was still registered as an amateur and could not claim the $14,000 men’s first prize; that money went to runner-up Okker. Wade received $6,000. Another common mix-up is treating the 1968 U.S. National Championships mixed-doubles results as part of this tournament: no mixed-doubles event was held at the 1968 US Open itself.