Carlos Alcaraz is to return to action at the US Open after his four months of injury torment.
The Spanish superstar will be back competing for a record Grand Slam winner's prize of $US5.5m ($A7.7m) in New York.
The news of the seven-time major champion's comeback at Flushing Meadows will have been music to the ears of fans and organisers, given he is the defending champion in New York, the world No.2, and has missed the past two Grand Slam events at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz hasn't played since April, sidelined with a concerning wrist injury, and he announced his momentous news on Thursday.
Alcaraz, who started the year by winning the Australian Open to complete his career Grand Slam, hasn't played since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open in April.
He was absent from both Paris and London while his great rival Jannik Sinner has largely dominated, winning all three clay-court Masters titles before defending his Wimbledon title.
Now Alcaraz is fit to return to the scene of his first Grand Slam triumph in 2022, where he became the youngest man to reach world No.1 in the rankings.
It's fantastic news for Craig Tiley, the new USTA CEO who was able to announce on Thursday an overall prize fund of $US108 million ($A152m) — the biggest prize pot in the sport's history and representing a 20 per cent rise for the second consecutive year.
"We are proud to deliver record-setting prize money and expanded player benefits as well as providing a new platform to work together with players," Tiley said.
That platform is the formation of a Grand Slam Player Council which is intended to give players a voice on a range of issues like prize money.
MORE: Grand Slams announce formation of a Grand Slam Player Advisory Council
Organisers hope all this will ward off the kind of player protests that occurred at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The champions' winning cheque will of $US5.5 million is an increase on the $5 million that Aryna Sabalenka and Alcaraz won last year, when the overall prize pot was $90 million.
Alcaraz will arrive in New York with a US Open win-loss record of 24-3, translating to a winning percentage of 88.9 — the highest of any man in the Open era.
Main-draw action kicks off at the US Open on Sunday 30 August.