Overview of the US Open
The US Open is one of the four major tennis tournaments on the tennis calendar, along with Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the French Open. The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts, usually in August. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tennis event played on hard courts. The event is held each year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. The US Open is the only of the four tennis majors that have a mandatory commitment to broadcasting all main draw matches live. The tournament is played over two weeks, with the first week consisting of qualifying and the second-week playing host to the main draw rounds.
History of the US Open
The US Open has been played since 1881 and is the third oldest tennis tournament in the world after Wimbledon and the Australian Open. For the first two years of the tournament, it was hosted at the New York Lawn Tennis Club. The tournament was not held between 1917 and 1918 due to World War I. In 1968, the tournament was acquired by the United States Tennis Association. The first year that the tournament was called the US Open was 1886. Up to 1925, the tournament was alternately called the U.S. National Championships, the National Tennis Championships, and the United States National Championships.
US Open Venue and Format
The tournament is held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The main court is called the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 23,000. The main draw of the tournament features both men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The tournament employs a 128-player singles draw and 64-player doubles draw. Doubles draws are played as a knockout tournament.
US Open Singles and Doubles Events
Men's and women's singles are the marquee events for both the men's and women's US Open. The singles tournaments award trophies to both the men's and women's singles winners. The men's singles tournament is played on hard-surfaced courts and features 128 men's tennis players. The women's singles tournament is also played on hard-surfaced courts and features 128 women's tennis players. The men's and women's doubles tournaments are played on hard-surfaced courts and feature 32 teams. The mixed doubles tournament is played on hard-surfaced courts and features 32 teams.
US Open Match Format
The US Open uses a best-of-three sets match format for singles and doubles matches, except the ladies and gentlemen's singles finals which use a best-of-five sets match format.
US Open Records and Winners
- Most titles: Roger Federer has won the US Open a record eight times. Mary Pierce and Serena Williams have each won the women's singles title six times. - Youngest winner:
Tracy Austin won the 1979 US Open when she was only 16 years old. - Oldest winner: Arthur Ashe won the men's singles title in 1968 at the age of 29 years old.
- Youngest finalist: Tracy Austin was also the youngest finalist to ever play at the US Open when she was 16 years old in 1979. - Oldest finalist: Andrés Gimeno was 35 years old when he was the finalist in the 1972 US Open.
- Fastest win: The fastest win at the US Open was in 1996 when Jim Courier defeated his opponent in 26 minutes.
- Longest match: The longest match at the US Open was in 1982 when the men's singles final between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl lasted for five hours and 49 minutes.
US Open Prize Money
The US Open is one of the four major tennis tournaments on the tennis calendar, along with Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the French Open. Prize money at the US Open depends on which round a player makes it to. The winner of the men's singles event at the US Open, who is guaranteed to earn a minimum of $2,400,000, will receive an extra $2 million bonus.
US Open Qualifying Process
There are usually three types of qualifying tournaments at the US Open, with each having a different amount of spots available. Certain places are reserved for wild card recipients, while other places are available to players who can earn a spot through a qualifying tournament.
Popular US Open Traditions
- The tournament begins with qualifying tournaments, which occur the preceding week. There are 32 places available through qualifying in the men's draw, and 32 women's places available;
- The main draw of the tournament takes place over two weeks, with the first week consisting of qualifying and the second-week playing host to the main draw rounds;
- The men's and women's singles finals take place on the last day of the tournament, the Sunday after the second week;
- The Arthur Ashe Stadium is host to the singles finals and is the only stadium that remains open during the US Open throughout the year;
- The tournament ends with what has become known as the traditional "parade of champions" ceremony, where the champions of previous games are invited to the stadium to be honored;
- The tournament is played on red clay courts, which are traditionally used for clay-court tennis tournaments.
