The U.S. Open tennis tournament is the last of the four grand slams played annually. For two weeks beginning in late August, 128 women and 128 men swing their oversized racquets on courts in Flushing Meadows- Corona Park, New York. In its 129 years the tournament has been played in three different states. It debuted at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island in 1881; moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York in 1915; went to the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1921; back to Forest Hills in 1924, then to its current location at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York in 1978.
This Tennis Center boasts the world’s largest tennis stadium named after renowned African-American player, Arthur Ashe. According to www.tennis.com, it holds 23,000 seats. Three additional stadiums (including the new court 17 which will hold about 3,000) sit on the 45-acre property. Former mayor David Dinkins signed a 99-year lease with the USTA which fines the city for any interruption of play due to aircraft flyover from La Guardia Airport located nearby.
The tournament has been played on three different surfaces. Beginning on grass, it switched to green clay in 1975 and to hard courts or Deco Turf II in 1978. In 2006, the Hawk-Eye computer system was installed to administer instant replay. This tournament is also the only grand slam to use the tiebreak in final sets: the fifth for the men and third for the women.
The main attraction at the Open is competition in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. But there are also singles qualifying competitions, competitions for former champions, juniors, and wheelchair professionals. The total prize money is $23,718,000. The main winners also receive Tiffany & Company-designed trophies. The 2010 champions are as follows: Women’s and men’s singles- Kim Clijsters and Rafael Nadal; women’s doubles- Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova; men’s doubles- Bob and Mike Bryan; and mixed doubles- Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan.
The oldest player to ever win a U.S. Open title was Margaret Dupont in 1960 at age 42. The youngest female player ever to win a match is Mary Joe Fernandez in 1985.The most titles won by any player is eight. That player was Molla Mallory in 1915-1926. Richard Sears won the most singles men’s titles with seven. Jimmy Connors holds the record for the most men’s matches with 98. The players with the longest tiebreak record at 20-18 are Goran Ivanisevic and Daniel Nestor in 1993. The first sisters to compete for the ladies’ singles title were Venus and Serena Williams in 2001. This was also the first time a grand slam title was contested on National Network Television in prime time.
“US Open.”www.tennis.com.