Located in New York, United States, the US Open is the fourth and last Grand Slam of the year. The first U.S. National Singles Championship for men was held at the Newport Casino, Newport, R.I., in August 1881. Only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter. That was the beginning of a 34-year reign for Newport as the tennis center of the country.

The early History of the US Open Tennis tournament indicates that the matches were played on the grass courts.Then in 1975 ForestHillsmoved the tournament to Har-Tru clay court and since 1978 it has moved to its current destination, The USTA National Tennis Center,Flushing Meadows Park. The DecoTurf surface at the US Open is a fast surface, having slightly less friction and producing a lower bounce compared to other hard courts (most notably the Rebound Ace surface of the Australian Open).

The main court is called Arthur Ashe Stadium with 24,000 seat capacity. It is named after Arthur Ashe the first African American tennis player who won the men’s final of the US Open in 1968 when the US Tennis tournament became Open. An incredible feat for a man who, due to segregation in America, was excluded from playing at any of his local tennis clubs and camps. Prior to Arthur, Althea Gibson was the first Black player ever to win the US Open title in 1957. Arthur Ashe (Right)

The second stadium is Louis Armstrong Stadium. This was the main stadium until the Ashe stadium came up. All the courts which are used by the US Open are well lit so that the TV coverage can be given. The US Open is different from the other 3 Grand Slam tournaments in that there are final set tiebreaks. In the other three majors, the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women continues until someone wins by two games.

The tournament will start on August 27 and the final day will be held on September 9. The total prize money for all events in 2008 is close to $19,653,000 and increase of 10% from 2007 who has seen an attendance of nearly 640,000 people and players from over 60 Nations competing in the prestigious event.
(Left) Martina Navratilova, with 16 titles at the US Open.