The History of the US Open

The US Open is one of the premier tennis championships that have given tennis lovers all over the world breathtaking moments since 1881.

It is now one the final of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments and is held annually in August and September over a two week period. It is composed of five championships which are:

• Men’s singles,
• Women’s singles,
• Men’s doubles,
• Women’s doubles, and
• Mixed doubles
  

There are also additional championships for senior, junior and wheelchair players.

The US Open is unique from the other Grand Slam tournaments as it has final set tie breakers. The other tournaments will continue in the last set until someone wins by two games. It has been played on acrylic hard court since 1978 and the current DecoTurf is a very fast surface that is painted blue and green to allow for easier tennis ball visibility.

The Early Years of the US Open

The US Open was a separate tournament from the US Open for women when it was first held in August 1881 at the Newport Casino, in Rhode Island. It was held there until 1915 when it moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York.

From 1921 through 1923 it moved to the Germantown Cricket club in Philadelphia before returning to the Forest Hills in 1924.

The Philadelphia Cricket Club was the site for the first US Women’s National Singles championship in 1887. This was quickly followed by the Mixed doubles championships and the Men’s doubles championships.

The early tournaments were simple. Teams would compete in the east and west of the country and the best two teams would meet in Philadelphia.

It was in 1968 when all the five events were merged into the US Open at the West Side Tennis Club. It also heralded the dawn of the Open era with 96 men and 63 women competing in a professional tennis tournament.

The tournament was played on grass at the Forest Hills before it switched to Har-Tru clay in 1975 before moving to the current DecoTurf in its present home at Flushing Meadows.

Highlights of the US Open

In 2006, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to implement instant review of umpire calls using the Hawk-Eye system. The current review system allows a player to challenge umpire calls up to three times with an extra challenge if the set is a tie breaker. The instant replays are shown to all in the stadium as well as the huge television audience instantaneously.

The total prize money for the competition is over 20 million dollars with the Men’s and Women’s singles winners walking away with over 1.5 million dollars each.

Some of the most notable players to have played in this tournament include five time winners Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.  3 time women’s singles champions Chris Evert. As well as the notorious John McEnroe who still holds the most championships at 4 singles and 4 doubles championships.

The US Open remains at the forefront of tennis development in the world and every tennis player wishes to lift the trophy at least once in their careers.vegetables and fruits.

 

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