The US Open is one of the four grand slam tournaments on the calendar. It is the last grand slam of the year and typically starts in the last week of August. The US Open is currently played on hard courts.

The US Open is held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The main court at the US Open, Arthur Ashe Stadium, added a roof in 2016.

US Open Tennis History

1881 – First men’s Championships (called National Singles Championships for Men) held on grass at Newport Casino, Rhode Island. Only members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) are allowed to enter the  tournament. Richard Sears won the first tournament.

1887 – First women’s Championships was held (called U.S. Women’s National Singles Championship) on grass at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Ellen Forde Hansell Alderice was the first women’s champion. Richard Sears wins his 7th men’s championships.

1892 – U.S. Mixed doubles Championships introduced. M. Wright and J. S. Clark were the first champions.

1893 –  U.S Men’s Doubles Championships held at the Staten Island Cricket Club in Livingston, Staten Island, New York.

1899 – U.S. Women’s National Doubles Championships introduced. Margarette Ballard and Bertha Townsend were the first women’s doubles champions.

1903 – Great Britain’s Lawrence Doherty is the first international champion at the Men’s Singles National Championship.

1911 – Wiliam Larned win’s 7th title at the men’s championships

1915 – National championship was relocated to West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. The effort to move the tournament was headed by New Yorker Karl Behr.

1929 – Bill Tilden wins his 7th title at the men’s championships

1931 – Hellen Wills Moddy of United States wins her 7th National Singles Championships. She won 8 Wimbledon and 4 French Open titles in her career.

1968- OPEN ERA – Professional tennis players were allowed to compete for the first time. All 5 tournaments were held at the same venue for the first time West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.

1975 – Surface switched to clay (from grass)

1978 – Tournament moves to hardcourt (from clay). All 5 events moved to the current location in Flushing, New York.

1979- Tracy Austin becomes the youngest singles champion at 16 years old. She beat Chris Evert 6-4 6-3 for the title.

1982 – Chris Evert wins her 6th US Open title

1983 – Jimmy Connors wins his 5th US Open title (his 8th grand slam title)

1990 – Pete Sampras becomes the youngest US Open men’s champion at 19 years and 28 days. He beat Andre Agassi  6-4 6-3 6-2 in the final.

1994 – Andre Agassi becomes the first unseeded player to win the US Open

2002 – Pete Sampras wins his 5th US Open title.

2008 – Roger Federer wins his 5th consecutive US Open title. He is the first to achieve this feat after Bill Tilden in 1924.

2014 – Marin Cilic wins the US Open men’s title (first Croatian to win a grand slam since Goran Ivanišević  won the Wimbledon in 2001)

2016 – After years of rain delays, Arthur Ashe stadium gets a roof.