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US Open (tennis)

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US Open
US Open.svg
Official website
Location Queens - New York City
United States United States
Venue USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre
Surface Grass - outdoors
(1881–1974)
Clay - outdoors
(1975–1977)
DecoTurf - outdoors
(1978–present)
Men's draw 128S / 128Q / 64D
Women's draw 128S / 96Q / 64D
Prize money US$ $21,016,000
Grand Slam
Current
2010 US Open (tennis)

The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a tennis tournament which is the modern incarnation of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, with the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881. Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final tennis major comprising the Grand Slam tennis tournament each year. Rafael Nadal is the most recent men's single winner in 2010.

It is held annually in August and September over a two-week period (the weeks before and after Labor Day weekend). The main tournament consists of five different event championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

The US Open is unique in that there are final-set tiebreaks; in the other three Grand Slam tournaments, the deciding set (fifth for men, third for women) continues until it is won by two games.

History

The US Open has grown from an exclusive entertainment event for high society to a championship for more than 600 male and female professional players who, as of 2008, compete for total prize money of over US$21 million, with $1.5 million for each winner of the singles tournaments.

In the first few years of the United States National Championship, only men competed, and only in singles competition. The tournament was first held in August 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island and in that first year only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter. From 1884 through 1911, the tournament used a challenge system whereby the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final. In 1915, the tournament moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York. From 1921 through 1923, it was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and returned to Forest Hills in 1924.

Six years after the men's nationals were first held, the first official U.S. Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887, followed by the U.S. Women's National Doubles Championship in 1889. The first U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship was held alongside the women's singles and doubles. The first U.S. National Men's Doubles Championship was held in 1900. Tournaments were held in the east and the west of the country to determine the best two teams, which competed in a play-off to see who would play the defending champions in the challenge round.

The open era began in 1968 when all five events were merged into the US Open, held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The 1968 combined tournament was open to professionals for the first time. That year, 96 men and 63 women entered the event, and prize money totaled $100,000 ($668,325 in current dollar terms).

In 1970, the US Open became the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to use a tiebreak at the end of a set. The US Open is also the only Grand Slam that continues to use the tiebreak in the 5th set. All the other three grand slams play it out with service games in the 5th set.

Jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces. The DecoTurf surface at the US Open is a fast surface, having slightly less friction and producing a lower bounce compared to other hard courts (most notably the Rebound Ace surface formerly used at the Australian Open). For this reason, many serve-and-volley players have found success at the US Open.

The main court is located at the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, opened in 1997. It is named after Arthur Ashe, the African American tennis player who won the men's final of the inaugural US Open in 1968. The next largest court is Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 1978, extensively renovated from the original Singer Bowl. It was the main stadium from 1978–96, and its peak capacity neared 18,000 seats, but was reduced to 5,500 after the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The third largest court is the Grandstand Stadium, attached to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Sidecourts 4, 7, and 11 each have a seating capacity of over 1,000.

All the courts used by the US Open are lighted, meaning that television coverage of the tournament can extend into prime time to attract higher ratings. This has recently been used to the advantage of the USA Network on cable and especially for CBS, the American broadcast television outlet for the tournament for many years, which used its influence to move the women's singles final to Saturday night to draw better television ratings.

In 2005, all US Open (and US Open Series) tennis courts were given blue inner courts to make it easier to see the ball on television; the outer courts remained green.

The USTA National Tennis Center was renamed in honour of four-time tournament champion and tennis pioneer Billie Jean King during the 2006 US Open.

Player challenges of line calls

In 2006, the US Open was changed to implement instant replay reviews of calls, using the Hawk-Eye computer system. Each player was allowed three challenges per set plus one additional challenge during a tiebreak. The player keeps all existing challenges if the challenge is successful. If the challenge is unsuccessful and the original ruling is upheld, the player loses a challenge. Instant replay was initially available only on the stadium courts (Ashe and Armstrong), until it became available on the Grandstand in 2009.

Once a challenge is made, the official review (a 3-D computer simulation based on multiple high-speed video cameras) is shown to the players, umpires, and audience on the stadium video boards and to the television audience at the same time. The system is said to be accurate to within five millimetres.

During the 2006 US Open, 30.5% of men's challenges and 35.85% of women's challenges were overturned. During the 2007 US Open, 95 challenges were overturned - or 30.6%.

In 2007, JP Morgan Chase renewed its sponsorship of the US Open. As part of its sponsorship arrangement, Chase renamed the tournament's replay system the "Chase Review" on in-stadium video and television.

Grounds

The Arthur Ashe stadium

The DecoTurf surface at the US Open is a fast surface, having slightly less friction and producing a lower bounce compared to other hard courts (most notably the Rebound Ace surface formerly used at the Australian Open). For this reason, many serve-and-volley players have found success at the US Open.

The main court is located at the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, opened in 1997. It is named after Arthur Ashe, the African American tennis player who won the men's final of the inaugural US Open in 1968. The next largest court is Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 1978, extensively renovated from the original Singer Bowl. It was the main stadium from 1978–96, and its peak capacity neared 18,000 seats, but was reduced to 5,500 after the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The third largest court is the Grandstand Stadium, attached to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Sidecourts 4, 7, and 11 each have a seating capacity of over 1,000.

All the courts used by the US Open are lighted, meaning that television coverage of the tournament can extend into prime time to attract higher ratings. This has recently been used to the advantage of the USA Network on cable and especially for CBS, the American broadcast television outlet for the tournament for many years, which used its influence to move the women's singles final to Saturday night to draw better television ratings.

In 2005, all US Open (and US Open Series) tennis courts were given blue inner courts to make it easier to see the ball on television; the outer courts remained green.

The USTA National Tennis Center was renamed in honour of four-time tournament champion and tennis pioneer Billie Jean King during the 2006 US Open.

Prize money

The total prize money for the 2008 US Open (in US dollars) is divided as follows:

Singles (men & women - 128 player draws)

Winners (2009) $1,600,000
Runners-up (2009) $800,000
Semifinalists (2009) $400,000
Quarterfinalists (2009) $175,000
Round of 16 $80,000
Third Round $48,000
Second Round $31,000
First Round $19,000
Total $17,320,000

Doubles (Per Team, Men & Women - 64 Draws)

Winners $420,000
Runners-Up $210,000
Semifinalists $105,000
Quarterfinalists $50,000
Round of 16 $25,000
Second Round $15,000
First Round $10,000
Total $1,800,000 ($3,600,000)

Mixed Doubles (Per Team - 32 Draws)

Winners $180,000
Runners-Up $90,000
Semifinalists $30,000
Quarterfinalists $15,000
Second Round $10,000
First Round $5,000
Total $500,000

Men's and Women's Qualifying (128 Draws)

Third Round Losers (16) $8,000
Second Round Losers (32) $5,625
First Round Losers (64) $3,000
Total $500,000 ($1,000,000)

Totals

Total Championship Events $19,200,000
Total for Champions Invitational $385,000
Player per diem $1,072,000
Total Player Compensation $20,657,000

Champions

Past champions

  • Men's Singles
  • Women's Singles
  • Men's Doubles
  • Women's Doubles
  • Mixed Doubles
  • Singles Finals

Current champions

Event Champion Runner-up Score
2010 Men's Singles Spain Rafael Nadal Serbia Novak Djokovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
2010 Women's Singles Belgium Kim Clijsters Russia Vera Zvonareva 6–2, 6–1
2010 Men's Doubles United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
India Rohan Bopanna
Pakistan Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
7–6, 7–6
2010 Women's Doubles United States Vania King
Kazakhstan Yaroslava Shvedova
United States Liezel Huber
Russia Nadia Petrova
2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4)
2010 Mixed Doubles United States Liezel Huber
United States Bob Bryan
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Pakistan Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
6–4, 6–4

Records

Record Era Player(s) Count Years
Men since 1881
Winner of most
Men's Singles titles
Before 1968: United States Richard Sears
United States Bill Larned
United States Bill Tilden
7 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
1901, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911
1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929
After 1967: United States Jimmy Connors
United States Pete Sampras
Switzerland Roger Federer
5 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983
1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Winner of most consecutive
Men's Singles titles
Before 1968: United States Richard Sears 7 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
After 1967: Switzerland Roger Federer 5 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Winner of most
Men's Doubles titles
Before 1968: United States Richard Sears
United States James Dwight
6 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
After 1967: United States Bob Lutz
United States Stan Smith
United States John McEnroe
4 1968, 1974, 1978, 1980
1968, 1974, 1978, 1980
1979, 1981, 1983, 1989
Winner of most consecutive
Men's Doubles titles
Before 1968: United States Richard Sears
United States James Dwight
6 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887
After 1967: Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
2 1995, 1996
1995, 1996
Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles - Men
Before 1968: United States Bill Tilden
United States Bill Talbert
4 1913, 1914, 1922, 1923
1943, 1944, 1945, 1946
After 1967: Australia Todd Woodbridge
United States Bob Bryan
3 1990, 1993, 2001
2003, 2004, 2006
Winner of most Championships
(total: singles, men's doubles,
mixed doubles) - Men
Before 1968: United States Bill Tilden 16 1913–1929 (7 singles, 5 men's doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
After 1967: United States John McEnroe 8 1979–1989 (4 singles, 4 men's doubles)
Women since 1887
Winner of most
Women's Singles titles
Before 1968: Norway/United States Molla Bjurstedt Mallory 8 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1926
After 1967: United States Chris Evert 6 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982
Winner of most consecutive
Women's Singles titles
Before 1968: Norway/United States Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
United States Helen Jacobs
4 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918
1932, 1933, 1934, 1935
After 1967: United States Chris Evert 4 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978
Winner of most
Women's Doubles titles
Before 1968: United States Margaret Osborne duPont 13 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1957
After 1967: United States Martina Navrátilová 9 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990
Winner of most consecutive
Women's Doubles titles
Before 1968: United States Margaret Osborne duPont 10 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950
After 1967: Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
Argentina Paola Suárez
3 2002, 2003, 2004
2002, 2003, 2004
Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles - Women
All-time: United States Margaret Osborne duPont
Australia Margaret Court
8 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960
1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972
Before 1968: United States Margaret Osborne duPont 8 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960
After 1967: Australia Margaret Court
United States Billie Jean King
United States Martina Navrátilová
3 1969, 1970, 1972
1971, 1973, 1976
1985, 1987, 2006
Winner of most Championships
(total: singles, women's doubles,
mixed doubles) - women
All-time: United States Margaret Osborne duPont
Australia Margaret Court
25
18
1941–1960 (3 singles, 13 women's doubles, 9 mixed doubles)
1961-1975 (5 singles, 5 women's doubles, 8 mixed doubles)
Before 1968: United States Margaret Osborne duPont 25 1941–1960 (3 singles, 13 women's doubles, 9 mixed doubles)
After 1967: United States Martina Navrátilová 16 1977–2006 (4 singles, 9 women's doubles, 3 mixed doubles)
Miscellaneous
Youngest winner(single) Men: United States Pete Sampras 19 years and 1 month
Women: United States Tracy Austin 16 years and 8 months

Men's singles

Year Champion Runner-up
1926 France René Lacoste France Jean Borotra
1933 United Kingdom Fred Perry Australia Jack Crawford
1956 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Lew Hoad
1957 Australia Mal Anderson Australia Ashley Cooper
1958 Australia Ashley Cooper Australia Mal Anderson
1959 Australia Neale Fraser Peru Alex Olmedo
1960 Australia Neale Fraser Australia Rod Laver
1961 Australia Roy Emerson Australia Rod Laver
1962 Australia Rod Laver Australia Roy Emerson
1963 Mexico Rafael Osuna Australia Frank Froehling
1964 Australia Roy Emerson Australia Fred Stolle
1965 Spain Manuel Santana South Africa Cliff Drysdale
1966 Australia Fred Stolle Australia John Newcombe
1969 Australia Rod Laver Australia Tony Roche
1970 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Tony Roche
1972 Romania Ilie Năstase United States Arthur Ashe
1973 Australia John Newcombe Czech Republic Jan Kodeš
1974 United States Jimmy Connors Australia Ken Rosewall
1975 Spain Manuel Orantes United States Jimmy Connors
1976 United States Jimmy Connors Sweden Björn Borg
1977 Argentina Guillermo Vilas United States Jimmy Connors
1978 United States Jimmy Connors Sweden Björn Borg
1979 United States John McEnroe United States Vitas Gerulaitis
1980 United States John McEnroe Sweden Björn Borg
1981 United States John McEnroe Sweden Björn Borg
1982 United States Jimmy Connors Czech Republic Ivan Lendl
1983 United States Jimmy Connors Czech Republic Ivan Lendl
1984 United States John McEnroe Czech Republic Ivan Lendl
1985 Czech Republic Ivan Lendl United States John McEnroe
1986 Czech Republic Ivan Lendl Czech Republic Miloslav Mečíř
1987 Czech Republic Ivan Lendl Sweden Mats Wilander
1988 Sweden Mats Wilander Czech Republic Ivan Lendl
1989 Germany Boris Becker Czech Republic Ivan Lendl
1990 United States Pete Sampras United States Andre Agassi
1991 Sweden Stefan Edberg United States Jim Courier
1992 Sweden Stefan Edberg United States Pete Sampras
1993 United States Pete Sampras France Cédric Pioline
1994 United States Andre Agassi Germany Michael Stich
1995 United States Pete Sampras United States Andre Agassi
1996 United States Pete Sampras United States Michael Chang
1997 Australia Patrick Rafter United Kingdom Greg Rusedski
1998 Australia Patrick Rafter Australia Mark Philippoussis
1999 United States Andre Agassi United States Todd Martin
2000 Russia Marat Safin United States Pete Sampras
2001 Australia Lleyton Hewitt United States Pete Sampras
2002 United States Pete Sampras United States Andre Agassi
2003 United States Andy Roddick Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero
2004 Switzerland Roger Federer Australia Lleyton Hewitt
2005 Switzerland Roger Federer United States Andre Agassi
2006 Switzerland Roger Federer United States Andy Roddick
2007 Switzerland Roger Federer Serbia Novak Djokovic
2008 Switzerland Roger Federer United Kingdom Andy Murray
2009 Argentina Juan Martin Del Potro Switzerland Roger Federer
2010 Spain Rafael Nadal Serbia Novak Djokovic

Women's singles

Year Champion Runner-up
1937 Chile Anita Lizana Poland Jadwiga Jędrzejowska
1959 Brazil Maria Bueno United Kingdom Christine Truman Janes
1963 Brazil Maria Bueno Australia Margaret Court
1969 Australia Margaret Court United States Nancy Richey
1970 Australia Margaret Court United States Rosemary Casals
1971 United States Billie Jean King United States Rosemary Casals
1972 United States Billie Jean King Australia Kerry Melville
1973 Australia Margaret Court Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley
1974 United States Billie Jean King Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley
1975 United States Chris Evert Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley
1976 United States Chris Evert Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley
1977 United States Chris Evert Australia Wendy Turnbull
1978 United States Chris Evert United States Pam Shriver
1979 United States Tracy Austin United States Chris Evert
1980 United States Chris Evert Czech Republic Hana Mandlikova
1981 United States Tracy Austin United States Martina Navratilova
1982 United States Chris Evert Czech Republic Hana Mandlikova
1983 United States Martina Navratilova United States Chris Evert
1984 United States Martina Navratilova United States Chris Evert
1985 Czech Republic Hana Mandlíková United States Martina Navratilova
1986 United States Martina Navratilova Czech Republic Helena Suková
1987 United States Martina Navratilova Germany Steffi Graf
1988 Germany Steffi Graf Argentina Gabriela Sabatini
1989 Germany Steffi Graf United States Martina Navratilova
1990 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini Germany Steffi Graf
1991 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles United States Martina Navratilova
1992 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
1993 Germany Steffi Graf Czech Republic Helena Suková
1994 Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Germany Steffi Graf
1995 Germany Steffi Graf United States Monica Seles
1996 Germany Steffi Graf United States Monica Seles
1997 Switzerland Martina Hingis United States Venus Williams
1998 United States Lindsay Davenport Switzerland Martina Hingis
1999 United States Serena Williams Switzerland Martina Hingis
2000 United States Venus Williams United States Lindsay Davenport
2001 United States Venus Williams United States Serena Williams
2002 United States Serena Williams United States Venus Williams
2003 Belgium Justine Henin Belgium Kim Clijsters
2004 Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova Russia Elena Dementieva
2005 Belgium Kim Clijsters France Mary Pierce
2006 Russia Maria Sharapova Belgium Justine Henin
2007 Belgium Justine Henin Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 United States Serena Williams Serbia Jelena Janković
2009 Belgium Kim Clijsters Denmark Caroline Wozniacki
2010 Belgium Kim Clijsters Russia Vera Zvonareva

Sponsors

2010

  • CBS Sports
  • ESPN2
  • Tennis Channel
  • Chase
  • Citizen
  • IBM
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Mercedes Benz
  • Olympus
  • American Express
  • Continental Airlines
  • Heineken
  • Polo Ralph Lauren
  • Canon
  • Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
  • Esurance
  • Evian
  • Panasonic
  • The New York Times
  • Tiffany & Co.
  • Westin Hotels & Resorts
  • Wilson
  • Ticketmaster
  • Grey Goose
  • Kraft Foods
  • Stonyfield Farm
  • Nike
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