US Open

The United States Open Tennis Championships, better known as the US Open, is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments on the professional tennis calendar.

It is currently a hard court tournament which takes place each year in late August and early September in New York at the UST Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.

Over the years it has also been played on clay and grass. Jimmy Connors is the only player in history to have won a US Open title on all three of its contested surfaces.

The North American based event is the final major tournament of the season as the Australian Open takes place in January, the French Open in May and June, and Wimbledon in June and July.

The two-week championship consists of five events: the men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

In 1881 the tournament took place for the first time in Newport, Rhode Island, and was referred to as the U.S National Championships. It was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win the tournament a whopping seven times. Only two other players in history have matched that record (Bill Larned and Bill Tilden).

Up until 1911, the format of the tournament was that of a challenge system in which the champion would face the winner of the event in the final.

The first non-American to win the U.S National Championships was Lawrence Doherty of Great Britain. He beat William Larned in the final 6-0, 6-3, 10-8.

The Open era began in 1968 when Arthur Ashe defeated the Netherlands' Tom Okker. Connors, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer have been the most successful players since the tournament was revised in the late 60s. They have each won it on five occasions.

In 1973, the US Open became the first Grand Slam to offer equal prize money to the men's and women's singles champions. John Newcombe and Margaret Court were the respective winners and both picked up a cheque for $25,000.

A further idea was introduced in 1975 as they opted to play under floodlights, which was a first for a Grand Slam tournament. That allowed organisers to schedule night matches, which extended the window of play available each day.

Five years later the US Open moved to its current home where there are 22 courts available. The Arthur Ashe Stadium is the main stadium and can hold up to 23,200 fans. Plans are in place for it to house a roof which can be closed to ensure play every day despite any inclement weather.

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