Vitalia Diatchenko’s hobbled performance Monday night against Serena Williams — which ended when she retired in the second set with a foot injury — stole some energy from the opening night of the United States Open and provoked more debate about how award money is handled for injured players.  By the time Diatchenko began to serve in the second game of the match, it was clear that something was amiss. Unable to push off with her left leg, Diatchenko used only her upper body to serve, hitting halfheartedly and erratically. On return, she was little better, barely able to move for most balls.  The crowd, eager to see a piece of history as Williams continued her attempt at a Grand Slam, quickly grew displeased with the uncompetitive match.  Diatchenko retired after eight games, down by 0-6, 0-2. Of the 37 points played, she won five — four of them on unforced errors by Williams.  After the match, Diatchenko arrived to her news conference with a support boot on her left foot and said that she had felt fine until sustaining an injury to her foot in prematch sprints, which she aggravated early in the match.  If Diatchenko had withdrawn before the match, she would have forfeited the $39,500 that goes to players who lose in the first round of the Open.  With payouts swelling at Grand Slam events, including those for lower-ranked players, many believe that a player is entitled to the minimum prize money simply by virtue of having earned a spot in the draw by her ranking. The $39,500 Diatchenko received for taking the court Monday will be a significant addition to her total earnings this year, which stood at $182,565.  The issue of players’ deserving prize money even when unable to compete has been raised more frequently as checks have grown larger, and it escalated at the 2014 Australian Open, when Polona Hercog retired after playing just six points with a pre-existing injury. John Isner, who played after Hercog that day and also retired, suggested a split between a withdrawing player and the lucky loser who takes his or her place.  “In a situation like that, maybe a rule could be put into place so that the person who pulls out gets compensated,” Isner said. “I don’t know, 75 percent of the first-round prize money, maybe 80, maybe even 100 percent of it. I think, at this point, a lucky loser is just happy to get in. I would be in favor of a rule change there. I don’t know about that girl in front of me, but she earned her spot in the main draw.”  Serena Williams takes the next step in her Grand Slam journey later today, facing Kiki Bertens. On the men’s side, top-seeded Novak Djokovic is the headliner on Arthur Ashe.  When asked her thoughts on the predicament for injured players, Williams initially made it clear that she was not interested in pursuing the topic.  “I told you all in Cincinnati that I’m not answering no questions that involve controversy,” Williams said before settling into a more considered answer.  “I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t think about that. I mean, you play to get compensated. You go to work to get compensated. I guess if you have a sick day in regular life, you still get compensated, so I don’t know.”  Though hers was of the highest profile, Diatchenko was one of 12 players (two women, 10 men; seven on Monday, five on Tuesday) to retire during the first round of the tournament by Tuesday evening, a U.S. Open record during one round of the event.  Some, like Diatchenko, were in obvious discomfort from the early stages of matches. Aleksandr Nedovyesov appeared immediately imperiled by a shoulder injury in his match against Lleyton Hewitt, losing the first set, 6-0, before retiring in the third set.  Not all retirements were brought on by pre-existing conditions. Thanasi Kokkinakis retired Tuesday afternoon while struggling in the hot, humid conditions through the fourth and fifth set of his match against 12th-seeded Richard Gasquet.  Aljaz Bedene was caught off guard when his first-round opponent, Ernests Gulbis, retired with an apparent right wrist injury in the middle of the third set.  “I was quite surprised,” Bedene said. “But I didn’t say, ‘Wait for the physio to come.’ I was quite happy.”  A version of this article appears in print on September 2, 2015, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Retirement Has Its Perks. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Faced with losing their paychecks if they forfeit, injured players opt to take the court, if only for a while. Diatchenko, for instance, earned $39,500 for being a first-round loser at the U.S. Open.