As one of the oldest tennis championships in the entire world, the US Open is a venerable institution in the world of tennis that has withstood the test of time. It is the fourth and final event of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, which is the group that includes the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon. If a singles player or doubles team wins all four events within the same year, the achieve the prestigious Grand Slam recognition that signifies them as winning four of the most important tennis tournaments in the world. As the last of these tennis tournaments, the US Open potentially stands between aspiring Grand Slam winners and the title. On its own merits, the US Open is one of the most important tennis tournaments because of its great amount of tradition, the size of the prize awarded to successful participants, the amount of public attention that is placed on the event, and the amount of world ranking points at stake.

Originally, the US Open was an exclusive tennis event that was only open to members of high society. It was created when two separate events, a men’s tournament and a women’s tournament, began to evolve into greater events that would encompass more types of players and draw more public attention. In 1881, the first incarnation of the predecessor to the US Open was held at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, but the only event was men’s singles. This event was known as the U.S. National Singles Championship for men and admission was only open to clubs that were part of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association. Given the popularity of tennis at this time and the status of those who could afford the time to pursue tennis as a career, participation in the U.S. National Singles Championship was exclusive to say the least. For the first several decades of the tournament’s existence, from 1884 to 1911, a challenge system was used wherein the winner of any given competition was given automatic entrance into the finals of next year’s competition. The tournament would move from Newport to Forest Hills, New York in 1915 and then again in 1921, where it be played for two years in Philadelphia, only to return to Forest Hills afterwards.

Throughout this time, women’s tennis in America was also flourishing. The U.S. Women’s National Singles Tournament began in 1887 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club while the U.S. Women’s National Doubles Tournament followed in 1889. By 1900, men’s doubles tournaments had begun, as well as mixed doubles that were held alongside the women’s singles and doubles. Competition at this point in the event’s history culminated in an east vs. west scenario, where the best players from both halves of the country would compete for the grand prize. This would continue all the way until 1968, when the idea for the US Open was born. All five events, including singles and doubles of both gender, as well as mixed competition, would be merged together to create a massive competition on a large scale that would draw much public attention, namely the US Open. It would be played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. Another notable aspect of the US Open was that professionals would be welcome to play in the event, whereas professionals were unwelcome in US Open’s preceding tournaments. This widened the field, creating interest in the event and upping the ante considerably.

In the first US Open, 96 men and 63 women entered the competition to vie for $100,000 in prize money. Two years later, the US Open would introduce the tie-break at the end of a set, paving the way for the rest of the Grand Slam tournaments to follow suit. The US Open was played on grass courts until 1975, when Forest Hills switched to clay courts. DecoTurf was the material that composed the court of the US Open in 1978, when the US Open moved to its current home at Flushing Meadow. Over the years, the US Open evolved from a rather low-key event with only hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake to a hugely-covered event that sees certain lucky players walk off the court a million dollars richer. For the 2007 US Open, for example, the winner of the singles competition of either gender could expect to receive $1,400,000 for his or her feat, while the runner-up would receive half of that, tapering downward as the prestige of one’s placement in the tournament dwindles. The doubles team that won the event received $400,000, while the mixed doubles winner received $150,000. This is a far cry from the original US Open that only had $100,000 at stake total.

The main court for today’s incarnation of the US Open is the Arthur Ashe Stadium, named for the African American tennis player who won the very first US Open in 1968. Court number two is Louis Armstrong Stadium and Court Number 3 is the Grandstand Stadium. All of the courts are lit, allowing television coverage of the event to extend into a time where more people are likely to be watching the event. This has been used in order to draw better television ratings for certain events, most notably the women’s portion of the competition which was moved to Saturday nights in order to increase the popularity of the event. Recently, the courts used in the US open series turned blue because some people thought that it would increase the visibility of the ball for both players and those watching the event, but critics of the switch say that it is difficult to see the ball either way and that it should have been kept the same. Another crucial aspect of the US Open is the fact that the courts are composed of DecoTurf, which is notably low-friction and creates a lower bounce, which means that games played on DecoTurf are faster than those that take place on other materials. This has historically benefited a certain type of tennis player, referred to as serve-and-volley players.

Over the years, certain tennis players have achieved great fame and fortune partially because of their success at the US Open. One of these is Pete Sampras, whose five wins at the US Open throughout the 90s and in 2002 helped to propel him to mega-stardom as an athlete. He is a member of the international tennis hall of fame and is one of the most recognizable faces associated with the sport. Roger Federer, a Swiss tennis player, is notable for dominating the event from 2004 to 2007, winning each and every US Open played during those years, and has become a modern phenomenon in the sport. Martina Navratilova, a tennis player from the Czech Republic, has received many accolades for her overwhelming success in every possible bracket of the US Open. Her victories in singles, doubles, and mixed competition make her one of the most successful women in the sport.

The US Open is one of those sporting events that draws the attention of those all over the world who aim to see if somebody from their country will take the grand prize and make them proud. It will begin on August 25, so do not miss out.