History Of The U.s Open In Tennis

The U.S. Open is one of tennis's four Grand Slam events. In 1881, four years after the first Wimbledon, the United States created a national tennis championship of its own at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island. Despite its New England origins, the U.S. Open's longest-serving home was the West Side Tennis Club of New York, located in Forest Hills, Queens. In 1978, the tournament moved to its current home Flushing Meadows, Queens, at the USTA's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The Beginning

According to notable tennis historian, Bud Collins, the U.S. Open was a profitable event even in its first year in existence. In 1881, when Dick Sears won the inaugural event in Rhode Island, the tournament netted a profit of $4.32. Since then, the tournament has grown into a giant commercial event that nets well over $130 million in profits for the United States Tennis Association.

The Surfaces

Like most tennis from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, the U.S. Open was originally played on a grass surface. Grass remained in play until the tournament opted to try clay in 1975. This short phase lasted only until the tournament moved to its current home in Flushing Meadows. At that point, tournament officials elected to use a hard court of asphalt composition. Since then, a hard court of varying construct has remained the surface of the U.S. Open.

The Open Era

Prior to 1968, elite tennis players had to make a choice between remaining and amateur and playing in the Grand Slams or turning professional and making money touring with other professionals. In 1968, in the interest of making the Grand Slams the crown jewels of all of tennis, the U.S. Open opened its doors to professionals and amateurs alike, offering a pot of $100,000 for that year's event. This ushered in the current period of tennis known as "The Open Era."

Innovations

In 1970, the U.S. Open became the first of all the Grand Slams to institute the tiebreaker to conclude sets that had reached 6-6 in games. It remains the only Grand Slam event to play a fifth-set tiebreaker for the men or a third-set tiebreaker for the women. In 1975, the U.S. Open became the first Grand Slam to play night matches. This development opened up new avenues of advertising money for television, thereby increasing the popularity of the game. Since 1973, according to Bud Collins, the U.S. Open has paid equal prize money to men and women, making it the first Grand Slam to do so.

Amazing Feats

Americans have always played a major role in the U.S. Open. Bill Tilden, Bill Larned, and Richard Sears still lead all players in men's singles titles won with seven, and tennis icons Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras each have five titles. Connors, meanwhile, is the only player to have won the U.S. Open on three different surfaces. On the women's side, Molla Bjurstedt Mallory won eight titles between 1915 and 1926, Helen Wills won seven titles between 1923 and 1931, and Chris Evert won six between 1975 and 1982. Swiss player Roger Federer won five consecutive men's singles titles from 2003 to 2007.

Breaking Barriers

Women didn't play in the first six U.S. Opens, but they joined the competition in 1887, when Ellen Hansell defeated Laura Knight in the final. In 1950, Althea Gibson became the first African-American player of either sex to enter the tournament. Seven years later, in 1957, Gibson would become the first African-American player to win the U.S. Open. In 1968, Arthur Ashe followed suit by becoming the first African-American man to win the U.S. Open, and in 1997 the USTA named its newly built tennis stadium after him.