Who would have thought back in the 1880s that an amateur event of US National Championships would become the richest and most profitable tournament of the year! It offers $18.5 million to over 600 players which fall in men’s singles’, women singles’, men’s doubles’, women doubles’ and mixed doubles.
The history of the US Open could be traced back to the year 1881 when the first match was played in Rhode Island in August. The first single title for male was won by Richard Sears in the same year which was successfully defended by him for the next six years.
Like in many other grand slams, the women entered the world this championship in the year 1887 but a different venue. US Open has been known for its ever-changing location, name, rules, and choice of playing surface.
The official seeding of this Grand Slam was introduced in 1927, while tiebreakers emerged in 1970. The prize money for men and women players on equal terms was introduced in the year 1973. Night play was introduced in 1975. In the same year, the grass courts were changed into green clay courts or Har-Tru courts.
Like many other changes introduced in this Grand Slam event, the location from Forest Hills in 1978 was replaced with FlushingMeadows, while the court surface is Deco Turf now.
The uniqueness of the US Open is that there are tie breaks in the final set of the match. In other Grand Slams, players have to play games of 2 points difference to decide the match.
It’s been 122 years of drama and action in Flushing Meadows and large numbers of audiences have enjoyed this tournament. The current champion is Nadal who claimed this title for the very first time. All eyes are on him for the next event.
