The US Open, officially known as United States Open Tennis Championships is a grand slam held annually over two weeks between late August and early September. The tournament is a modern incarnation of exclusive men’s singles and doubles event which began in 1881. Since then, the tournament has grown into a 2 week entertainment extravaganza held at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York City.
US Open was held on grass court from 1881-1974, on clay from 1975-1977 and it is held on DecoTurf from 1978 to date. Similar to other Grand Slams, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair, legends and exhibition matches. This is a unique tournament as the final-set can be decided via tiebreaker which is not the case in other three Grand Slam tournaments.
The surface at US Open is DecoTurf, which is a fast surface and produces low bounce as compared to other hard courts. The main court of the tournament is the 24,000 seat Arthur Ashe Stadium which was opened in 1997. It is the largest outdoor tennis-only venue in the world. The next-largest court of the tournament is the Louis-Armstrong Stadium which was opened in 1978. More than 7 00,000 fans enter the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center annually, during the tournament.
US Open Facts –
Venue - USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York City.
Surface – DecoTurf-outdoors
Official Ball – Wilson
Men’s Singles – 128 players
Women’s Singles – 128 players
Women’s Doubles – 64 pairs
Men’s Doubles – 64 pairs
Courts – There are 32 courts in the US Open tournament, Arthur Ashe Stadium being the main one.
The USTA has put forth “green” initiative to reduce the harmful environmental effects of the US Open. Each year around 15,000 to 20,000 Wilson tennis ball cans are recycled and at the same time around 60,000 Wilson tennis balls are reused for National Tennis Center.
In 2010, Rafael Nadal won the men’s singles title whereas Kim Clijsters won the women’s singles title. Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan won the men’s doubles title; Vania King and Shvedova won the women’s doubles title; Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber won the mixed doubles title.