Kalshi becomes exclusive prediction market partner of US Open
Kalshi has become the exclusive prediction market partner of the 2026 US Open under a deal with the United States Tennis Association (UTA). The agreement gives Kalshi sole rights to offer event contracts tied to the tournament. Two sources confirmed the deal. Terms were not disclosed. Traders on the platform are pricing Aryna Sabalenka as the favorite to win the women's singles title despite a shaky summer. The deal reportedly blocks rival platforms from advertising at the tournament and on its ESPN broadcasts.
Kalshi, exclusivity at a Grand Slam is a user-acquisition weapon against Polymarket and Novig. The ESPN broadcast ban on rivals means casual viewers see only Kalshi's brand during the tournament's two-week window. That attention converts to signups if the platform can keep spreads tight while Sabalenka and other favorites move. The risk is execution: Kalshi's tennis books have already shown thin liquidity around injury news, and US Open volume could expose the same gaps.
If traders hit wide spreads or delayed settlement, the marketing spend buys frustration, not loyalty. Rivals locked out of Flushing Meadows will spend to capture that audience elsewhere, probably through NFL kickoff promotions. Kalshi must convert August tennis buzz into persistent users before September football pulls attention away.
Joins Kalshi's exclusive deal with five MLB teams, where two lack full exclusivity, as the platform builds a sports-partner portfolio faster than any CFTC-registered rival.