A Guide To The Tennis US Open

The US Open is the final Tennis Grand Slam of the year and is held at Flushing Meadows in New York every September. It is one of the two grand slams held on hard court, the other of which is the Australian Open. It was first played in 1881 and now begins on the last day in August. 

 There are five primary championships held in total, men’s singles and double, women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles. As well as this there are senior, junior, and wheelchair tournaments. The tournament which is run by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is officially held at the following address: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, NYC.  

 The first tournament in 1881 was held on grass on Rhode Island and was only open to club members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association. Richard Sears won the first men’s championship held, in fact he won the first seven.  

 The Open Era which began in 1968 allowed professional Tennis players to compete and in 1978 the first US Open was held at Flushing Meadows after being held at numerous other locations including clay surfaces. Jimmy Connors managed to win the US Open on all three surfaces (clay, grass and hard) whilst Chris Evert won it on two (Clay and hard).  

 About Flushing Meadows 

 There are 22 outdoor courts at the venue along with 12 outside courts. There are four “show courts” which the main matches are played on. These are: 

 Arthur Ashe Stadium 

Louis Armstrong Stadium 

The Grandstand 

Court 17 

 Attendances at the competition have gradually grown over the years. The 2018 has 732,663 people through the door.  

 Prize Money 

 US Open Prize money for both men and women are identical and the winner currently receives $3,800,000. A first round exit receives $54,000 whilst you even get $8000 for losing in the first of the three qualifying rounds. The total prize money across all events at the 2018 US Open was $53 million. 

 US Open Records (Open Era) 

 Most Men’s Singles Titles – Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer (5) 

Most Consecutive Men’s Singles Titles – Roger Federer (5) 

Most Women’s Singles Titles – Serena Williams, Chris Evert (6) 

Most Consecutive Women’s Singles Titles – Chris Evert (4) 

Notable Men’s Winners  

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal, Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, John Newcombe, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe. 

Notable Women’s Winners 

Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Virginia Wade