US Open (tennis)

Coordinates: 40°44′59.26″N 73°50′45.91″W / 40.7497944°N 73.8460861°W / 40.7497944; -73.8460861

US Open
Official website
Founded 1881 (1881)
Editions 136 (2016)
Location New York City, New York,
United States
Venue USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Surface Grass - outdoors (1881–1974)
Clay - outdoors (1975–1977)
Hard (DecoTurf[1]) - outdoors (1978–present)[lower-alpha 1]
Prize money $ 46,300,000 (2016)
Men's
Draw 128S / 128Q / 64D
Current champions Stan Wawrinka (singles)
Jamie Murray / Bruno Soares (doubles)
Most singles titles 7
Richard Sears
Bill Larned
Bill Tilden
Most doubles titles 6
Richard Sears
Holcombe Ward
Women's
Draw 128S / 128Q / 64D
Current champions Angelique Kerber (singles)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Šafářová (doubles)
Most singles titles 8
Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
Most doubles titles 13
Margaret Osborne duPont
Mixed Doubles
Draw 32
Current champions Laura Siegemund / Mate Pavić
Most titles (male) 4
Bill Tilden
Bill Talbert
Bob Bryan
Most titles (female) 8
Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Court
Grand Slam
Last Completed
2016 US Open

The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament. The tournament is the modern version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, for which 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 each year; the other three, in chronological order, are the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.

The US Open is held annually, starting on the last Monday in August, and lasting for two weeks into September, with the middle weekend coinciding with the Labor Day holiday. The main tournament consists of five 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 Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. The US Open is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), a not-for-profit organization. Net proceeds from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television deals are used to promote the development of tennis in the United States.

The US Open is the only Grand Slam that employs tiebreakers in every set of a match. For the other three Grand Slam events, if a match goes to the last set (the third for women, fifth for men) and there is a 6–6 tie, the match continues until one player wins by two games, while in all four Grand Slam events, the sets played before the last set always employ tiebreakers should a set reach 6–6.

History

Newport Casino Tennis Court

1881–1914: Newport Casino

The tournament was first held in August 1881 on the grass courts 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 (USNLTA) were permitted to enter.[2] The first edition was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win seven consecutive singles titles.[3] From 1884 through 1911, the tournament used a challenge system whereby the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final in which he would play the winner of the all-comers tournament. In 1915 the national championship was relocated from Newport, Rhode Island to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York; as early as 1911 an effort was made by a group of tennis players, headed by Karl Behr from New York, to relocate the tournament to New York.[4]

1915–1977: West Side Tennis Club

In early 1915 the issue resurfaced when a group of about 100 tennis players signed a petition in favor of the move, arguing that most tennis clubs, players and fans were located in the New York area and that it would therefore be beneficial for the development of the sport to host the national championship there.[5] This view was opposed by another group of players which included eight former national singles champions.[6][7] The contentious issue was brought to a vote at the annual USNLTA meeting on February 5, 1915 and with 128 votes in favor and 119 against it was decided to relocate.[8][9][10]

From 1921 through 1923, the tournament was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia.[11] It returned to Forest Hills in 1924 following the completion of the newly constructed 14,000 seat concrete Forest Hills Stadium.[12] Though regarded unofficially by many as a major championship beforehand, the tournament was officially designated as one of the major tournaments by the ILTF commencing in 1924.

In the first few years of the United States National Championship only men competed and the tournament was known as the US National Singles Championships for Men. 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, won by 17-year-old Philadelphian Ellen Hansell, accompanied by the U.S. Women's National Doubles Championship (not held for the next two years) and U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship (not held in 1899). The women's tournament used a challenge system from 1888 through 1918, except in 1917. Between 1890 and 1906 sectional tournaments were held in the east and the west of the country to determine the best two doubles teams, which competed in a play-off to see who would play the defending champions in the challenge round.[12]

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. 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.

In 1970, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to use a tiebreak to decide a set that reached a 6–6 score in games and is the only major to use a tiebreak in the deciding set; the other three grand slams play out the deciding set until a two-game margin is achieved. From 1970 to 1974 the US Open used a best-of-nine point, sudden death tiebreaker before moving to the ITF best-of-twelve point system.[3]

In 1973 the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women with that year's singles champions John Newcombe and Margaret Court both receiving $25,000.[3] Another US Open innovation came in 1975 when floodlights enabled night play for the first time.

Since 1978: USTA National Tennis Center

In 1978 the tournament moved from the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens to the larger USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, three miles to the north. In the process, the tournament switched the court surface from clay, used in the last three years at Forest Hills, to hard courts. Jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces (grass, clay, hardcourt), while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces (clay, hardcourt).[3] The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played every year since its inception.[13]

From 1984 through 2015, the U.S. Open deviated from traditional scheduling practices for tennis tournaments with a concept that came to be known as "Super Saturday": the men's and women's finals were played on the final Saturday and Sunday of the tournament respectively, and their respective semi-finals were held one day prior. The Women's final was originally held in between the two men's semi-final matches; in 2001, the Women's final was moved to the evening so it could be played on primetime television, citing a major growth in popularity for women's tennis among viewers.[14] This scheduling pattern helped to encourage television viewership, but proved divisive among players because it only gave them less than a day's rest between their semi-finals and championship match.[15][16]

For five consecutive tournaments between 2007 through 2012, the Men's final was postponed to Monday due to weather. In 2013 and 2014, the USTA intentionally scheduled the Men's final on a Monday—a move praised for allowing the Men's players an extra day's rest following the semis, but drew the ire of the ATP for further deviating from the structure of the other Grand Slams.[17][15] In 2015, the Super Saturday concept was dropped, and the US Open returned to a format similar to the other majors, with Men's and Women's finals on Saturday and Sunday. However, weather delays forced both sets of semifinals to be held on Friday that year.[18][16]

Grounds

During the 2006 US Open, the complex was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in honor of four-time tournament champion and women's tennis pioneer Billie Jean King.

Courts

Arthur Ashe stadium

The grounds of the US Open hold a total of 22 courts consisting of four "show courts" (Arthur Ashe, Louis Armstrong, Grandstand and Court 17), 13 field courts and five practice courts.

The main court is the 22,547-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium which 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 the Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 1978, extensively renovated from the Singer Bowl, which was built for the 1964 New York World's Fair. It was the main stadium from 1978 to 1996. Its peak capacity neared 18,000 seats, but was reduced to 10,200 by the removal of the upper tiers of seating after the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium.[19] The third largest court is the 6,000-seat Grandstand, created when the rectangular Singer Bowl was transformed into the square Armstrong Stadium, leaving about a third of the Bowl available to become another venue.

In 2011, Court 17 was opened as a fourth show court, with large television screens and electronic line calling which allows player challenges. Sunken into the ground, it has been nicknamed "The Pit". It initially held 2,500 with temporary stands, but will allow over 3,000 fans after its completion in 2012. It is located in the southeast corner of the grounds.[20] Sidecourts 4, 7, and 11 each have a seating capacity of over 1,000.

All the courts used by the US Open are illuminated, allowing television coverage of the tournament to extend into primetime. In 2001, the Women's final was moved to primetime; CBS Sports president Sean McManus cited significant interest credited to star players such as Martina Hingis Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and the ratings performance of the 1999 Women's final, which was pushed into primetime due to a rain delay.[14]

Player line call challenges

In 2006, the US Open introduced instant replay reviews of calls, using the Hawk-Eye computer system, the first grand-slam event to use the system. According to many experts, the system was implemented due to a controversial quarterfinal match at the 2004 US Open between Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati, where important line calls went against Williams.[21] Instant replay was initially available only on the stadium courts (Ashe and Armstrong), until 2009 when it became available on the Grandstand as well. In 2007, JP Morgan Chase renewed its sponsorship of the US Open and as part of the arrangement, the replay system was renamed to "Chase Review" on in-stadium video and television.[22]

Surface

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.

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.[23]

Recent attendances

20152014201320122011201020092008200720062005
691,280713,642713,026710,803658,664712,976721,059720,227715,587640,000659,538

Sources: US Open,[24] City University of New York (CUNY)[25]

Prize money

The total prize money for the 2016 US Open championships is US$46,300,000, divided as follows:[26][27]

Event W F SF QF 4R 3R 2R 1R Q3 Q2 Q1
Singles $3,500,000 $1,750,000 $875,000 $450,000 $235,000 $140,000 $77,188 $43,313 $16,350 $10,900 $5,606
Doubles* $625,000 $310,000 $150,000 $75,000 $40,000 $24,500 $15,141 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Mixed Doubles* $150,000 $70,000 $30,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

* per team

In addition $600,000 will contribute Champions Invitational events prize money, while $1,478,000 is estimated as players' per diem. A total of men's and women's singles prize money ($36,324,000) will account for more than 78% of total player compensation, while doubles ($5,463,000) and mixed doubles ($500,000) – for 12% and 1%, respectively.[27]

The US Open has made a five-year agreement to increase the total prize money to about $50,000,000 by 2017. As a result, the total base prize money for the 2013 tournament was increased to $33.6 million, a record $8.1 million increase from 2012. The champions of the 2013 US Open Series will also have the opportunity to add $2.6 million in bonus prize money, potentially bringing the total 2013 US Open purse to more than $36 million.[28] In 2014 the total base prize money was $38.3 million.[29] In 2015 the prize money was raised to $42.3 million.[30]

The growth in prize money awarded to the participants has far outpaced inflation over the past forty years. For example, the singles champions in 1973 earned $25,000, which, in 2015 dollars, would equal approximately $133,000. However, in 2015, the singles champions each earned $3.3 million. In other words, in real dollars, today's champions are paid approximately twenty-five times more than champions were in 1973.

Ranking points

Ranking points for the men (ATP) and women (WTA) have varied at the US Open through the years but presently singles players receive the following points:

Event W F SF QF 4R 3R 2R 1R
Singles Men 2000 1200 720 360 180 90 45 10
Women[31] 2000 1300 780 430 240 130 70 10
Doubles Men 2000 1200 720 360 180 90 0
Women 2000 1300 780 430 240 130 10

Champions

Past champions

Current champions

Event Champion Runner-up Score
Men's Singles final Switzerland Stan Wawrinka Serbia Novak Djokovic 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3
Women's Singles final Germany Angelique Kerber Czech Republic Karolina Plíšková 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Men's Doubles final United Kingdom Jamie Murray
Brazil Bruno Soares
Spain Pablo Carreño Busta
Spain Guillermo García-López
6–2, 6–3
Women's Doubles final United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová
France Caroline Garcia
France Kristina Mladenovic
2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Mixed Doubles final Germany Laura Siegemund
Croatia Mate Pavić
United States Coco Vandeweghe
United States Rajeev Ram
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 Holcombe Ward
6 1882, 1883, 1884 with James Dwight, 1885 with Joseph Clark, 1886, 1887 with James Dwight
1899, 1900, 1901 with Dwight F. Davis, 1904, 1905, 1906 with Beals Wright
After 1967: United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
5 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014
2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014
Winner of most consecutive
Men's Doubles titles
Before 1968: United States Richard Sears
6 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: United States Bob Bryan 4 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010
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 Bob Bryan 9 2003–2014 (5 men's doubles, 4 mixed 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
United States Serena Williams
6 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982
1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014
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 with Sarah Palfrey, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1957 with Louise Brough
After 1967: United States Martina Navratilova 9 1977 with Betty Stöve, 1978, 1980 with Billie Jean King, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 with Pam Shriver, 1989 with Hana Mandlíková, 1990 with Gigi Fernández
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 Navratilova
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 25 1941–1960 (3 singles, 13 women's doubles, 9 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 Navratilova 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[32]
Women: United States Tracy Austin 16 years and 8 months[32]
Oldest winner(single) Men: United States William Larned 38 years and 8 months[32]
Women: United States Molla Bjurstedt Mallory 42 years and 5 months[32]

Media coverage

See also

Notes

  1. Except Arthur Ashe Stadium during rain delay.
  2. Last American Men's Singles champion: Andy Roddick (2003).
  3. Last American Women's Singles champion: Serena Williams (2014).

References

  1. "DecoTurf Tournaments - DecoTurf News - DecoTurf Events". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  2. "National Lawn-Tennis Tournament" (PDF). The New York Times. July 14, 1881. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 10, 452, 454. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  4. "Tennis Tournament at Newport Again" (PDF). The New York Times. February 4, 1911. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  5. "Newport May Lose Tennis Tourney" (PDF). The New York Times. January 17, 1915. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  6. "Want Newport for Tennis Tourney" (PDF). The New York Times. January 18, 1915. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  7. "A Tennis "Solar Plexus`"" (PDF). The New York Times. January 23, 1915. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  8. "Tourney Goes to New York". Boston Evening Transcript. February 6, 1915. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  9. "'All-Comers' Tourney to be Restricted" (PDF). The New York Times. February 7, 1915. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  10. "Newport Loses Tennis Tourney" (PDF). The New York Times. February 6, 1915. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  11. "Germantown Cricket Club History". Germantown Cricket Club. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Shannon, Bill (1981). United States Tennis Association Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (Centennial edition). NY: Harper & Row. pp. 237–249. ISBN 0-06-014896-9.
  13. "Grand Slams – US Open". ITF. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  14. 1 2 "LADIES FIRST – WOMEN'S OPEN FINAL IS SO HOT, THEY'RE MOVING IT TO PRIME-TIME". New York Post. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  15. 1 2 "ATP blasts US Open over Monday final". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Traditional US Open scheduling favors Federer". ESPN.com. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  17. "US Open schedules Monday finish". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  18. "U.S. Open schedule: How to watch semifinal matches". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  19. "Ashe & Armstrong Stadiums". USTA. May 25, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  20. Robson, Douglas. "New show court draws a crowd, quietly" USA Today (August 29, 2011)
  21. Chris Broussard (September 9, 2004). "Williams Receives Apology, and Umpire's Open Is Over". New York Times.
  22. "Chase signs mega renewal with Open". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  23. "Courting Victory on Any Surface". USTA. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  24. "US Open History – Year-by-Year". United States Tennis Association (USTA).
  25. "U.S. Open Tennis - Total Attendance (By Year)". www.baruch.cuny.edu. City University of New York.
  26. "US Open Prize Money Increases Announced". ATP Tour. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  27. 1 2 "US Open Prize Money". USTA. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  28. "US Open makes long-term commitment to the game". US open. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  29. "2014 US Open Prize Money" US Open
  30. "US prize money upped" DPA International, 14th of July 2014.
  31. "WTA". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  32. 1 2 3 4 "Youngest and oldest champions". US Open Org. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  33. "ESPN to Gain Full Rights to U.S. Open in 2015". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
Preceded by
Wimbledon
Grand Slam Tournament
August–September
Succeeded by
Australian Open
Preceded by
New Haven
US Open Series
July–September
Succeeded by
None
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