Every summer on the last Monday in August, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, the US Open, begins. This tournament is one of the oldest in the world, and along with the Australian Open, it is the most prestigious tournament played on a hard surface.
Previously, I wrote articles regarding fun facts about Wimbledon and the French Open. Today, I am writing an article about the US Open, which will be held for the 143rd time this summer at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played continuously and never been canceled due to either World War I or World War II or the Covid-19 pandemic.
History of US Open
The first US Open tournament was played in 1881. While the US Open is widely known today for being played on hard courts, this Grand Slam was played on a different surface for a long time.
FUN FACT: The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played on three different surfaces. From 1881-1974, the tournament was played on grass. After that, the US Open was played on clay courts for several years. Since 1978, the US Open has been played on hard courts.
FUN FACT: Jimmy Connors is the only player to win the US Open on all three surfaces. On the women’s side, only Chris Evert won the US Open on both clay and hard surfaces.
The first US Open was played at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. This tournament was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win six more US Open titles in a row. Sears is also tied as the record holder for the most titles, with two other players, Bill Larned and Bill Tilden, each also winning seven championship titles at the US Open.
In the tournament’s early years, the previous year’s winner was automatically granted a spot in the next year’s finals. For the first six years, the tournament was only played by men. Beginning in 1887, women began to also compete, with the first women’s tournament taking place at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
As in other Grand Slam tournaments, only amateurs were allowed to compete until 1987. We often hear about the “Open Era” and this is simply referring to 1968 when professional tennis players were allowed to compete in the Grand Slams.
In 1968, the US Open prize money totaled $100,000. At the 2023 US Open, prize money will total $65 Million.
Since 1973, the US Open has paid equal prize money to the men and women. The-winners in 1973, Margaret Court and John Newcombe, earned $25,000 each. The 2023 winners will receive $3 Million each.
For more than six decades, except for a three-year break from 1921-1923 where it was played in Philadelphia, the men’s US Open was played at the West Side Tennis Club (1915-1977).
USTA National Tennis Center
Since 1978, the US Open has been played in its current location on hard courts at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens in the New York City borough of Queens.
The complex where the US Open is held contains 22 hard courts, with another 12 practice courts nearby in the adjoining Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The largest tennis stadium in the world, known as the Arthur Ashe Stadium, is the main court at the US Open with a capacity of almost 24,000 fans.
This court is named after Arthur Ashe, who is the only African American player to win the US Open title. He was the first US Open in the Open Era in 1968. The stadium named after him was completed in 1997 and since 2016 has had a retractable roof.
The second largest court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is named after the famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong. This stadium can accommodate more than 14,000 fans and was opened in 2018.
Until a few years ago, the US Open was played on a hard surface called Pro DecoTurf. Since 2020, the US Open has been played on courts with a Laykold surface.
Copyright: 2018 USTA
FUN FACT: Until 2005, the US Open was played on a hard surface that was mostly green and red because the tournament was previously played on clay and grass. Then a change to blue was made so that players, fans and TV viewers could spot the ball more easily.
The US Open is also the first grand slam tournament to be played at night, which happened for the first time in 1975.
In 2006, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to use the Hawk-Eye system. This system was introduced just two years after the controversial match between Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati when multiple shots by Serena were erroneously called out by the line judges.
FUN FACT: The men’s and women’s US Open champion each receive a receive a trophy manufactured by Tiffany, which weighs 10 pounds and is 18 inches tall.
The Notable Names
On the women’s side, Molla Mallory, a Norwegian-American tennis player, holds the record for the most US Open titles. She won the tournament eight times between 1915-1926.
In the Open Era, Chris Evert and Serena Williams have each won the US Open 6 times. Tracy Austin won the 1979 US Open when she was just 16 years and 8 months old.
On the men’s side, I previously mentioned that three players (Richard Sears, William Larned and Bill Tilden) each won the US Open seven times.
In the Open Era, Jimmy Conners, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have each won the US Open 5 times. Sampras, who won his first US Open in 1990 when he was only 19 year and one month old, is also the youngest winner of the US Open. Federer won five consecutive titles between 2004 and 2008.
