US Open
The US Open tennis tournament is chronologically the fourth and final event of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments. 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 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 court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York City. The complex was renamed after King during the 2006 US Open. King is a pioneer in women's tennis and the founder of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the Women's Sports Foundation and World Team Tennis (WTT), which she founded with her former husband, Larry King.
The US Open differs from the other 3 Grand Slam tournaments in that there are final-set tiebreaks. In the other three majors, the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women continue until someone wins by two games.
Grounds
The main court is located at the 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, named after Arthur Ashe, the African American tennis player who won the inaugural men's final of the US Open in 1968. (The British tennis player Virginia Wade won the first woman's US Open final, five months after she turned professional.) Court Number 2 is Louis Armstrong Stadium, which stood as the main stadium until the completion of Ashe stadium. Court Number 3 is the Grandstand Stadium, which is attached to the Luis Armstrong Stadium. Sidecourts 4, 7 and 11 each have a seating capacity of well over 1,000.
All the courts used by the US Open are lit, meaning that TV coverage of the tournament can extend into prime time to attract more ratings. This has recently been used to the advantage of the USA Network on cable and especially for CBS, the American broadcast TV outlet for the Open 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 and green outer courts to make it easier to see the ball. This change has been met with mixed reactions from both players and fans, with many players saying that the ball is no easier to see with the blue courts.
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.
Prize Money
Singles (Men & Women - 128 Draws)
- Winners $1,400,000
- Runners-Up $700,000
- Semifinalists $300,000
- Quarterfinalists $150,000
- Round of 16 $75,000
- Third Round $43,000
- Second Round $27,500
- First Round $17,500
Total $6,588,000 ($13,176,000)
Doubles (Per Team, Men & Women - 64 Draws)
- Winners $400,000
- Runners-Up $200,000
- Semifinalists $100,000
- Quarterfinalists $50,000
- Round of 16 $25,000
- Second Round $15,000
- First Round $10,000
Total $1,760,999 ($3,520,000)
Mixed Doubles (Per Team - 32 Draws)
- Winners $150,000
- Runners-Up $70,000
- 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)
Champions