Kalshi Partners With USTA as First Official US Open Prediction Market Partner

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has named Kalshi as the first Official Prediction Market Partner of the US Open, marking a significant convergence between professional sports and event-based trading. For fintech professionals, this exclusive multi-year agreement signals the growing institutional legitimacy of prediction markets as a mainstream asset class for fan engagement and financial speculation.

What was announced

The partnership is set to officially commence with the 2026 US Open Singles Main Draw. Under the terms of this landmark agreement, Kalshi will secure a prominent brand presence across the tournament’s digital platforms and through physical on-court signage. This move reflects a broader trend of sports leagues seeking to capitalize on the rapid expansion of prediction markets, which allow users to trade on the outcome of specific events rather than traditional odds-based betting.

The deal is underpinned by a significant surge in user activity; Kalshi currently serves millions of users, and the platform has reported that tennis-related trading volume has increased 25-fold year-over-year. To manage the risks associated with this growth, the USTA and Kalshi have developed a robust integrity framework. This system is specifically designed to protect the fairness of the competition by restricting markets that could be susceptible to manipulation or insider knowledge. Prohibited markets include those focused on umpire decisions, player injuries, and code violations.

Furthermore, Kalshi has executed a confidential data-sharing agreement with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). This arrangement facilitates real-time market surveillance, allowing for the proactive monitoring of trading patterns. This layer of oversight complements the USTA’s existing multi-layered strategy, which includes proactive monitoring, stakeholder education, and strict compliance enforcement of sporting regulations.

"Every summer the US Open takes over New York, and as a New York company, we're proud to be part of it. Tennis is one of the fastest-growing sports on Kalshi, with fans using our markets to understand what's happening throughout the tournament. We're proud to partner with the USTA to give fans even more ways to engage with the game they love. That's the standard for how leagues and prediction markets should partner.”

Tarek Mansour, CEO & Co-founder at Kalshi.

The companies involved

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the organization responsible for the US Open, led by CEO Craig Tiley. The association maintains a multi-layered strategy for the tournament that includes proactive monitoring, stakeholder education, and strict compliance enforcement to ensure the integrity of the sport.

Kalshi is a New York-based company and prediction market platform with millions of users. It provides a venue for fans to use markets to understand and engage with events throughout the tournament. The company has seen significant growth in its sports-related segments, with tennis-related trading volume on the platform increasing 25x year-over-year. Kalshi operates as a regulated entity, recently establishing a comprehensive integrity framework in collaboration with sports governing bodies to protect competitive fairness.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) is an organization that works with the USTA and its partners to maintain the integrity of the sport. Under this new agreement, the ITIA has entered into a confidential data-sharing agreement with Kalshi to conduct real-time market surveillance, ensuring that the evolving landscape of prediction markets does not compromise the fairness of professional tennis matches.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Kalshi’s expansion into the institutional and infrastructure layers of the financial sector. In August 2026, we reported that Cantor Fitzgerald Launches Institutional Block Trading for Prediction Markets via Kalshi, a move that brought sophisticated trading capabilities to the platform. This followed the news that Apex Fintech Solutions and Kalshi Launch API for Prediction Markets Access, which integrated prediction markets into the broader fintech ecosystem. Additionally, our coverage of the wider market includes how EDGE Markets Partners with ProphetX to Enable $1M Daily Real-Time Deposits for Traders and how LinqAlpha Launches AI Lab to Solve Wall Street’s Accountability Crisis and Benchmark Model Trust, highlighting the increasing technical sophistication of modern trading platforms.

What this means

This partnership represents a pivotal shift in how major sports leagues view event-based trading. By integrating Kalshi directly into the US Open, the USTA is validating prediction markets as a legitimate engagement tool rather than a peripheral gambling product. This puts significant pressure on traditional sportsbooks to evolve their offerings, as prediction markets often provide more transparent price discovery and a different risk profile for participants. The inclusion of the ITIA suggests that regulatory compliance and integrity are now foundational requirements for any fintech firm looking to enter the high-stakes world of professional sports. The industry must now grapple with where the line between financial trading and sports betting truly lies.