The US Open Tennis Tournament is an annual event that features the best men's and women's tennis players in the world. The US Open is held in late summer in New York City and lasts for two weeks. According to the US Open's official website, the tournament has the highest attendance of any annual sporting event in the world.
Founding
The US Open began in 1881, when the US Lawn Tennis Association sought to host a national championship. Initially, only players who were members of the US National Lawn Tennis Association could enter, and the first tournament featured 26 participants, all of whom were male. In its first year, the tournament had a singles and doubles tournament and was held in Rhode Island.
Women Enter the Open
The first US Open tournament to include women was held in 1887. However, the women's tournament took place at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, while the men's tournament continued to be held at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island. Women's doubles was introduced in 1889, and that event was also held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Mixed Doubles
For the first few years of the US Open, the men and women did not play together. In 1892, a mixed doubles tournament, which featured teams of one man and one woman, was introduced. This event was played along with the women's events until 1921, when the founders of the US Open decided to hold mixed doubles along with men's doubles.
The "Open Era"
According to the US Open's official website, the Open Era began in 1968. In this year, all of the tournament's events -- men's and women's -- were held together at New York's West Side Tennis Club for the first time. In 1975, the US Open changed the playing surface from grass to clay.
Another New Location
In 1978, the US Open moved to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, the tournament's current location as of 2011. This move ushered in another new era of the US Open, as the tournament was now held on a hard court surface, rather than clay or grass. The following year, Tracy Austin became the youngest champion of the tournament, winning the women's singles event at 16 years of age.
1990s and Beyond
In 1990, youth once again ruled the US Open, as Pete Sampras became the youngest men's champion at age 19. Four years later, Andre Agassi became the first unseeded participant to claim the championship in the post-1968 era. From 2004 to 2008, Roger Federer won the US Open five consecutive times, and became the first player to win five in a row since 1924.
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