US Open (tennis): Difference between revisions

US Open

File:US Open.jpg
Official website
Location	Queens - New York City United States
Venue	USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Surface	Grass - outdoors (1881–1974) Clay - outdoors (1975–1977) DecoTurf - outdoors (1978–present)
Prize money	US$ 21,600,000
Men's
Draw	128S / 128Q / 64D
Women's
Draw	128S / 96Q / 64D
Grand Slam
Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open
Ongoing
[[2009 US Open (tennis)|]]

Template:TennisPortal 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 mens' singles was first contested in 1881. Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament each year.

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 Center 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$19 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 ($876,172 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.

The US Open was originally played on grass until Forest Hills switched to Har-Tru clay courts in 1975 for three years. In 1978, the event moved north from Forest Hills to its current home at nearby Flushing Meadows and the surface changed again, to the current DecoTurf.

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.

Player challenges of line calls

In 2006, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament 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 3 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 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 millimeters, resulting in an accuracy of 99.2%.

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%.

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 24,000-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 10,000 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 lit, 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 honor 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 EACH
Runners-up (2009)	$800,000
Semifinalists (2009)	$350,000
Quarterfinalists (2009)	$175,000
Round of 16	$80,000
Third Round	$48,000
Second Round	$31,000
First Round	$19,000
Total	$7,320,000

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

Main article: List of US Open (tennis) champions

• Men's Singles
• Women's Singles
• Men's Doubles
• Women's Doubles
• Mixed Doubles
• Singles U.S. Open Final Appearances

Current champions

• 
  Caption 2009 Men's
• 
  Kim Clijsters won the title over Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
2009	Roger Federer	Roger Federer	Roger Federer

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
2009	Kim Clijsters	Caroline Wozniacki	7–5, 6–3

Records

Record	Era	Player(s)	Count'	Years
Men since 1881
Winner of most Men's Singles titles	Before 1968:	Richard Sears Bill Larned Bill Tilden	7	1881-87 1901-02, 1907-11 1920-25, 1929
	After 1967:	Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras Roger Federer	5	1974, 1976, 1978, 1982-83 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002 2004-08
Winner of most consecutive Men's Singles titles	Before 1968:	Richard Sears	7	1881-87
	After 1967:	Roger Federer	5	2004-08
Winner of most Men's Doubles titles	Before 1968:	Richard Sears James Dwight	6	1882-87 1882-87
	After 1967:	Bob Lutz Stan Smith 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:	Richard Sears James Dwight	6	1882-87 1882-87
	After 1967:	Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde	2	1995-96 1995-96
Winner of most Mixed Doubles titles - Men	Before 1968:	Bill Tilden Bill Talbert	4	1913-14, 1922-23 1943-46
	After 1967:	Todd Woodbridge Bob Bryan	3	1990, 1993, 2001 2003-04, 2006
Winner of most Championships (total: singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles) - Men	Before 1968:	Bill Tilden	16	1913–1929 (7 singles, 5 men's doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
	After 1967:	John McEnroe	8	1979–1989 (4 singles, 4 men's doubles)
Women since 1887
Winner of most Women's Singles titles	Before 1968:	/ Molla Bjurstedt Mallory	8	1915-18, 1920-22, 1926
	After 1967:	Chris Evert	6	1975-78, 1980, 1982
Winner of most consecutive Women's Singles titles	Before 1968:	/ Molla Bjurstedt Mallory Helen Jacobs	4	1915-18 1932-35
	After 1967:	Chris Evert	4	1975-78
Winner of most Women's Doubles titles	Before 1968:	Margaret Osborne duPont	13	1941-50, 1955-57
	After 1967:	/ Martina Navrátilová	9	1977-78, 1980, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1989-90
Winner of most consecutive Women's Doubles titles	Before 1968:	Margaret Osborne duPont	10	1941-50
	After 1967:	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	3	2002-04 2002-04
Winner of most Mixed Doubles titles - Women	All-time:	Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Court	8	1943-46, 1950, 1958-60 1961-65, 1969-70, 1972
	Before 1968:	Margaret Osborne duPont	8	1943-46, 1950, 1958-60
	After 1967:	Margaret Court Billie Jean King / 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:	Margaret Osborne duPont 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:	Margaret Osborne duPont	25	1941–1960 (3 singles, 13 women's doubles, 9 mixed doubles)
	After 1967:	/ Martina Navrátilová	16	1977–2006 (4 singles, 9 women's doubles, 3 mixed doubles)
Miscellaneous
Youngest winner(single)	Men:	Pete Sampras	19 years and 1 month
	Women:	Tracy Austin	16 years and 8 months

Men's singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up
1926	Rene Lacoste	Jean Borotra
1933	Fred Perry	Jack Crawford
1956	Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad
1957	Mal Anderson	Ashley Cooper
1958	Ashley Cooper	Mal Anderson
1959	Neale Fraser	Alex Olmedo
1960	Neale Fraser	Rod Laver
1961	Roy Emerson	Rod Laver
1962	Rod Laver	Roy Emerson
1963	Rafael Osuna	Frank Froehling
1964	Roy Emerson	Fred Stolle
1965	Manuel Santana	Cliff Drysdale
1966	Fred Stolle	John Newcombe
1969	Rod Laver	Tony Roche
1970	Ken Rosewall	Tony Roche
1973	John Newcombe	Jan Kodes
1986	Ivan Lendl	Miloslav Mecir
1987	Ivan Lendl	Mats Wilander
1988	Mats Wilander	Ivan Lendl
1989	Boris Becker	Ivan Lendl
1994	Andre Agassi	Michael Stich
1999	Andre Agassi	Todd Martin
1997	Patrick Rafter	Greg Rusedski
1998	Patrick Rafter	Mark Philippoussis
2005	Roger Federer	Andre Agassi
2006	Roger Federer	Andy Roddick
2007	Roger Federer	Novak Djokovic
2008	Roger Federer	Andy Murray
2009	Juan Martín del Potro	Roger Federer

Women's singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up
1937	Anita Lizana	Jadwiga Jedrzejowska
1959	Maria Bueno	Christine Truman Janes
1963	Maria Bueno	Margaret Court
1973	Margaret Court	Evonne Goolagong Cawley
1988	Steffi Graf	Gabriela Sabatini
1990	Gabriela Sabatini	Steffi Graf
1992	Monica Seles	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1993	Steffi Graf	Helena Sukova
1994	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario	Steffi Graf
2003	Justine Henin	Kim Clijsters
2004	Svetlana Kuznetsova	Elena Dementieva
2005	Kim Clijsters	Mary Pierce
2006	Maria Sharapova	Justine Henin
2007	Justine Henin	Svetlana Kuznetsova
2009	Kim Clijsters	Caroline Wozniacki

Media coverage

• The 2008 Open was broadcast in the United States on CBS Sports and the USA Network.
• Beginning in 2009, the tournament will be broadcast on CBS, ESPN2, and Tennis Channel.
• The tournament is broadcast in Canada on TSN, TSN HD, and TSN2.
• The tournament is broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports Xtra, and on Eurosport for the UK and Germany.
• In the Netherlands and Belgium, the US Open is broadcast on Eurosport.
• In Spain, the tournament is broadcast on Digital plus and Antena 3.
• In India and Pakistan, the US Open is broadcast on the channel Ten Sports.
• In Japan, the tournament has been broadcast on WOWOW since 1992.

See also

• US Open Series
• List of tennis players
• List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions
• List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

External links

• US Open Official Site
• US Open - All winners and runners-up. Reference book