What are the Key Facts About the US Open Tennis Championship?
The US Open tennis championship is held every year over two weeks in late August and ends in September. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the last grand slam of the year is underway at the USTA (United States Tennis Association) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The 140th edition of the championship has reached the semi-final stage. The 2020 edition kicked off on August 31, and it will conclude on September 13. The US Open tennis is traditionally the fourth and the last of the Grand Slam tennis events.
Notable absentees in 2020 US Open Tennis Championship
This year the tennis courts are empty, with no hue and cry of fans due to health and safety protocols set up in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several top players, like the defending champions Rafael Nadal of Spain and Bianca Andresscu of Canada, are the notable absentees in the ongoing event, citing safety concerns for themselves and fellow players.
Djokovic disqualifies
An unusual incident happened in the ongoing US Open tennis when Seventeen-time Grand Slam Champion and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia had to disqualify from the tournament in his Round of 16 matches against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. The hot favorite hit a lady line umpire on her neck unintentionally with a ball while the game was in progress. Which later resulted in the disqualification of the Serbian star from the rest of the tournament. Djokovic showed the sportsman spirit and accepted his mistake and apologized. He requested his fans to remain calm.
History
The beginning of the tennis tournament in the United States is an old one. In 1881, the first tennis event got underway on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. Gradually tennis began to be a popular game in the United States. Fans started turning out in large numbers to watch tennis. Later the event was called the US National Championships. Since 1968, the Open Era of this tennis championship began, and it came to be known as the US Open.
Male dominance in the beginning
In the beginning, only men tennis players were allowed to participate. Therefore men singles and doubles events began to be held on grass courts to the accompaniment of classical music. But some changes took place over the next decade. The tournament took a new shape with the first women’s singles event held in 1887, then women doubles got the green signal in 1889, while mixed doubles kicked off the first time in 1892.
Things started changing from 1881 until 1914 when competitions had started taking place on local tennis courts. The event shifted to New York. The tennis tournament took place at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills in New York from 1915 to 1977. But other tennis tournaments, including the Davis Cup, continued to take place in Newport.
Turnaround in 1968
A distinguished turnaround had taken place in 1968 when the event got a new name, the United States Open Tennis Championships in that year. First-time professionals and amateurs, both kinds of tennis players were allowed to participate together. Arthur Ashe and Virginia Wade emerged victorious in the men and women single championship in the 1968 US Open tennis tournament.
Flushing Meadows a new venue in 1978
Another reversal took place in the US Open tennis when the tournament moved to a new park named Flushing Meadows at the US Tennis Association National Tennis Center in New York in 1978. In 2006, it was renamed as the US Tennis Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Billie Jean King is one of the greats in women tennis and grabbed 39 grand slam titles in all formats.
Arthur Ashe Stadium is a tennis stadium at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. It is a part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the main stadium for the US Open championship.
Surface
The tennis officially was to be held on grass from 1881 to 1974. The event was held on clay courts from 1975 to 1977. The US Open has been played on a hard-court surface called Pro DecoTurf since 1978. It is a multi-layer cushioned surface, which is neither slow nor fast. The International Tennis Federation called it a medium-fast turf.
In 2020 the US Open officials decided to change the surface for the first time in 42 years. The 2020 event is in progress on the most advanced tennis court surface Laykold hard courts. Laykold has made a five-year partnership from 2020 onwards.
Prize money
The US Open tennis event has a reputation for rewarding maximum prize money in tennis. The organization has already announced to pay a remarkable amount to the winners, runner ups and others this year. Despite the novel coronavirus, the winners of the singles events will take home a hefty purse of $3 million apiece, while the runner-up will be richer by $1.5 million.
A significant point with the US Open is that it is the first out of four Grand Slams events to award the same amount of money to men and women competitors. It was the pioneering effort of tennis legend Billie Jean King, and her hard work that has equaled the prize value for both men and women players.
Notable winners
Since the beginning of the events, several players have grabbed the title. But some stars left their mark to be remembered forever. There were even some distinguished tennis stars who failed to lift the coveted trophy. The remarkable Swedish tennis star Björn Borg famously never won the US Open losing in the final four times during his prime form.
Richard Sears emerged champion seven times from 1881 to 1887. Bill Tilden also bagged the title seven times. Other notable winners were Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors, who bagged the title five times each. Ill-tempered star John McEnroe won four US Open titles. In the women’s section, great women tennis players of yesteryear, Chris Evert, bagged six singles titles, and Serena Williams equaled her records. Steffi Graf of Germany grabbed five US Open titles.
The US Open is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world. Unfortunately, 2019 champions Rafael Nadal and Bianca Andreescu are not part of this year’s event. But top players of the world are producing their best-possible tennis to entertain their fans, who are watching them play, digitally. The organization always honors the pioneer champions. At the 2019 US Open, the USTA honored former champion Althea Gibson, who shattered the racism or color barrier in the sport of tennis.
| RECORDS | |
| MEN | WOMEN |
| Singles | |
| Before 1968: Richard Sears (7) William Larned (7) Bill Tilden (7) Open Era: Jimmy Connors (5) Pete Sampras (5) Roger Federer (5) |
Before 1968: Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (8) Open Era: Chris Evert (6) Serena Williams (6) |
| Doubles | |
| Before 1968: Richard Sears (6) Holcombe Ward (6) Open Era: Mike Bryan (6) |
Before 1968: Margaret Osborne duPont (13) Open Era: Martina Navratilova (9) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| All time: Edwin P. Fischer, Wallace F. Johnson, Bill Tilden, Bill Talbert, Owen Davidson, Marty Riessen, Bob Bryan (4 titles each) |
Before 1968: Margaret Osborne duPont (9) Open Era: Margaret Court (3) Billie Jean King (3) Martina Navratilova (3) |
| Most Titles (Total) | |
| Before 1968: Bill Tilden (16) Open Era: Bob Bryan (9) |
Before 1968: Margaret Osborne duPont (25) Open Era: Martina Navratilova (16) |
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