The United States Open Championship is an annual tennis event held at Flushing Meadows, New York for two weeks at the end of August and beginning of September. This year’s event begins on August 30, 2010. It offers the largest prize money of any of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Players from around the world gather to compete over a total of $21 million dollars in prize money, including a one million dollar prize for first place in men's or women's singles. The competitions include men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Tickets can be hard to find but Coast to Coast has all the best tickets to all US Open Tennis dates. Get yours now and be there in person to see all the action live in the 2010 US Open!
The US Open was started in 1881 by the United States Tennis Association. It was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. This tournament began as an amateur exhibition and was called the US National Championships. In 1881 the only event was men's singles. Shortly thereafter, men's doubles was added. A separate tournament was started in 1887 for women at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. In 1968 the men's and women's tennis tournaments were combined, opened to professionals, and renamed the US Open. This championship soon grew to be one of the largest tennis tournaments in the world, rivaled only by Wimbledon, and it is still growing. In 2004 the US Open Tennis Series was formed. This combined 10 tournaments held in the United States to create a cohesive tennis season after Wimbledon that lasts until the US Open.
The US Open is played only on hard courts. These are the fastest courts in tennis, and the US Open is known for its fast-paced and energetic competition. Clay and grass tennis courts are much slower and are featured at the French Open and Wimbledon respectively.
All the great tennis players have competed on these courts. Men who have fared well at the US Open are Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bill Tilden, and Richard Sears. Bill Tilden holds the male record for most events won with 16 championships. Past women champions include Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Daveport, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Margaret DuPont, and Helen Wills. Margaret Osborne DuPont holds the female record for most championships at the US Open with 25 wins in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. The US Open is a world event open to amateurs and professionals alike.
People from around the world not only play in the US Open but are spectators as well. Over 600,000 people buy tickets to attend the tournament every year, and over 30,000 tickets have been sold for each event. One of the largest crowds of the US Open included 32,797 ticket-holders at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2002.
The US Open is held in Flushing Meadows Park in New York, which has been home to two World Fairs. The stadiums are located next to Shea Stadium where the New York Mets play. The biggest stadium is Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was built in 1997. Over 23,000 tickets are available for this stadium. Louis Armstrong Stadium, which holds 10,000 people, was the main stadium until Arthur Ashe Stadium was built. However, players still compete in the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The US Open is the United States' premier tennis event. Players from all over the world gather to compete over the most prize money offered at a sporting event. However, people buy tickets for the US Open to experience tennis at its highest and fastest competitive level.
