New Delhi: The fourth and last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open is a hardcourt tennis tournament. It is played in August and September over a period of two weeks. The main tournament consists of five different events - 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 US Open is being played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York.


HISTORY

It is one of the oldest tennis tournaments which was originally called the U.S. National Championship.

The first match under it was played in 1881. In the first few years, only men played in the event at Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island. Six years later, the first official U.S. Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887, accompanied by the U.S. Women's National Doubles Championship and U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship.

In the first year only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were allowed to participate. From 1884 to 1911, the tournament adopted a challenge system where in the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final.

In 1915, the US Championship moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York. It moved to the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia in 1921.  It returned to Forest Hills in 1924.

The Open era began in 1968 and all five events were merged into the US Open. It became open for professionals. In 1970, the US Open became the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to use a tiebreak at the end of a set. It 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.


PRIZE MONEY

Total Prize Money: $23,718,000
Singles: $16,936,000
Doubles: $3,600,000
Mixed Doubles: $500,000
Total For Champions Invitational & Wheelchair Competition: $410,000


PLAYING COURTS

As mentioned above, the US Open is a hardcourt tennis championship. The courts comprise of layers of acrylic, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. This makes it a fast surface with slightly less friction.

The main court is located at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. With a capacity of 22,547, the main court was opened in 1997. The next largest court is Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 1978. It was the main stadium from 1978–96. Its capacity was reduced to 10,200 from 18,000 after the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The third largest court is the 6,000-seat Grandstand Stadium, adjacent to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Sidecourts 4, 7, and 11 each have a seating capacity of over 1,000.

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 TV; the outer courts remained green.