Here is some trivia related to the annual USA Tennis Open.

tennis match tennis tournament

Origins and Name

  • The U.S. Open is officially called the United States Open tennis tournament, though it was originally called the U.S. National Championship.
  • The first US Open was held at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island, and was won by Richard Sears.
  • The US Open was known as the Patriotic Tournament in 1917 during World War I.
  • It is the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments to have been staged every single year since it began. The championships were played right through both World Wars, while Wimbledon and the Australian Championships were suspended for several years.
  • A five set women's final was played from 1887-1901.
  • From 1884-1911 for men and from 1887-1918 for women, a challenge round system (in which the defending champion qualified for the following year's final) was used.
  • In 1968 and 1969 both Amateur and Open Championships were held.

Courts and Venue

  • U.S. Open was played on clay courts from 1975 to 1977. It is the only major to have been held on three different surfaces — grass from 1881 to 1974, clay from 1975 to 1977, and hard court ever since (DecoTurf until 2019, Laykold from 2020).
  • Jimmy Connors is the only player to have won the title on all three surfaces: on grass in 1974, on clay in 1976, and on hard court in 1978, 1982 and 1983.
  • Floodlights arrived with the clay courts in 1975, making the US Open the first major to stage night matches.
  • Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997 and, with 23,771 seats, is the largest tennis stadium in the world. Its retractable roof was added in 2016 at a cost of US$180 million.
  • An US$800 million redevelopment of the stadium — the largest project in the tournament's history, adding 2,000 courtside seats, a 40 per cent bigger promenade concourse and two new suite levels — is due for completion in 2027.
  • In 2005, all US Open and US Open Series tennis courts were given blue inner courts and green outer courts to make it easier to see the ball.

Rules and Technology

  • In 1970, the US Open was the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to introduce the tie-break at the end of a set, using a nine-point sudden-death format.
  • For decades the US Open was the only major to settle a deciding set with a tie-break. That difference disappeared in 2022, when all four Grand Slams adopted a common rule: a first-to-ten tie-break, won by two points, at 6-6 in the final set.
  • In 2006, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to use Hawk-Eye to review umpire calls (see info about Hawkeye for Tennis).
  • In 2021, it went further, putting automated Hawk-Eye Live line calling on every court. There are no line judges and no player challenges — the calls are made electronically. Video review was added in 2023 for the decisions the system cannot make, such as double bounces.
  • The US Open was the first Grand Slam to use a 25-second shot clock in the main draw, introduced in 2018 to keep play moving between points.
  • The 2020 tournament was postponed until September because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the games were played without spectators

Prize Money and Crowds

  • In 1973, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women, after a campaign led by Billie Jean King. That year's singles champions, John Newcombe and Margaret Court, each received $25,000.
  • The 2026 tournament carried a record purse of US$108 million, up 20 per cent on 2025. Singles champions Alexander Zverev and Elena Rybakina each collected US$5.5 million, the largest winner's cheque in Grand Slam history, and even a first-round loser earned US$140,000.
  • The 2025 championships drew 1,144,562 spectators, a tournament record and the second year running that attendance passed one million.

Champions and Records

  • The youngest player to ever win a match was Vincent Richards (1918), at the age of 15 years, 5 months, and 8 days.
  • The oldest champion was Bill Larned who was 38 years, 8 months, and 3 days when he won the last of his seven singles titles in 1911. Novak Djokovic win in 2023 made him the oldest men's singles champion in the Open Era, at 36 years and 111 days.
  • The youngest ladies Singles Champion was Tracy Austin (1979) who was 16 years, 8 months, and 28 days
  • The youngest Mens Singles Champion was Pete Sampras (1990), who was aged 19 years, 0 months, 28 days.
  • The most men's singles titles is seven, shared by three players from the amateur era: Richard Sears (1881-1887), Bill Larned (1901-1911) and Bill Tilden (1920-1929). In the Open Era, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer share the record with five each.
  • Molla Mallory holds the women's record with eight singles titles between 1915 and 1926. In the Open Era, Chris Evert and Serena Williams have won six apiece.
  • The longest match on record in the history of the U.S. Championships was on Sept. 12, 1992, in the men's singles semifinals between Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang, which took five hours and 26 minutes.
  • In 2021, Britain's Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier in the Open era to win a tennis Grand Slam, and she did so without losing a single set throughout the tournament.
  • In 2026 Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton to win his first US Open title, becoming the first German man to take the trophy since Boris Becker in 1989.
  • Elena Rybakina won the 2026 women's title, the first player from Kazakhstan to do so, ending Aryna Sabalenka's bid for a third consecutive US Open crown.