US Open Tennis History

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: A general view of the Arthur Ashe Statue and Stadium during the men's final of the US Open at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on September 11, 2005 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by: Sarah Lehberger/Getty Images)

The US Open is, in effect, a combination of two events - the original men's and women's competitions which can be traced all the way back to the late 1800s. It was only in 1968 that the two tournaments were coupled together to form what is now known as the US Open.

US National Singles Championships for Men

The men's event first took place in 1881 and was hosted by the Newport Casino on Rhode Island - an elite New England summer resort of the rich and famous best remembered as the personal playground of the Kennedy clan during the reign of JFK.
Only clubs affiliated to the US National Lawn Tennis Association were allowed to compete, and it was known as the US National Singles Championships for Men as it only offered a singles event at the time.
During the Rhode Island tenure two outstanding champions emerged - Richard Sears and William Larned. Harvard student, Sears claimed the first seven events back-to-back and became one of the youngest champions in US Open tennis history, at the age of 19. Larned too claimed seven victories, but they were not consecutive. He later committed suicide due to incurable rheumatoid arthritis which effectively turned him into a cripple.
In 1915 the tournament outgrew its venue on Rhode Island and moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, where the US Open was contested until 1977. The West Side Tennis Club saw remarkable changes to the game of tennis:

The introduction of seeding in 1927
Althea Gibson became the first black women to contest a Grand Slam event in 1950
Billie Jean King won the first Grand Slam with a metal racket in 1967
Tiebreakers in 1970
Equal prize money for men and women in 1973
Night play in 1975

The West Side Tennis Club boasted grass courts until 1975 when the court surfaces where changed to Har-Tru or green clay courts.

US Women's National Singles Championships

It was six years later that the first women's singles event was held, and this time one of the oldest sports clubs in the country played host to the event - the Philadelphia Cricket Club. In 1889 the women's doubles and mixed doubles events were added to the schedule.
During the early years several outstanding champions emerged including the 'Queen Mother of American Tennis' - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, eight-time winner, Norwegian Molla Bjurstedt Mallory and 'Little Miss Poker Face', Helen Mills Moody, who claimed the title seven times.
In 1968, with the advent of the open era, all five events were combined to form the US Open. For the very first time in US Open tennis history professionals were allowed to compete, and 96 men and 63 women battled it out for the $100 000 purse. The venue remained Forest Hills until 1978 when the tournament moved to Flushing Meadows and the current hard court or DecoTurf surfaces.

US Open

Official web
Location	New York City - Queens United States
Venue	USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Surface	Grass - outdoors (1881–1974) Clay - outdoors (1975–1977) DecoTurf - outdoors (1978–present)
Men's draw	128S / 128Q / 64D
Women's draw	128S / 96Q / 64D
Prize money	US$$21,016,000

The total prize money for the 2008 US Open (in US dollars) is divided as follows:

Singles (men & women – 128 player draws)

Winners (2009)	$1,650,000
Runners-up (2009)	$800,000
Semifinalists (2009)	$400,000
Quarterfinalists (2009)	$175,000
Round of 16	$80,000
Third Round	$48,000
Second Round	$31,000
First Round	$19,000
Total	$17,320,000

Doubles (Per Team, Men & Women – 64 Draws)

Winners	$420,000
Runners-Up	$210,000
Semifinalists	$105,000
Quarterfinalists	$50,000
Round of 16	$25,000
Second Round	$15,000
First Round	$10,000
Total	$1,800,000 ($3,600,000)

Mixed Doubles (Per Team – 32 Draws)

Winners	$180,000
Runners-Up	$90,000
Semifinalists	$30,000
Quarterfinalists	$15,000
Second Round	$10,000
First Round	$5,000
Total	$500,000

Men's and Women's Qualifying (128 Draws)

Third Round Losers (16)	$8,000
Second Round Losers (32)	$5,625
First Round Losers (64)	$3,000
Total	$500,000 ($1,000,000)

Totals

Total Championship Events	$19,200,000
Total for Champions Invitational	$385,000
Player per diem	$1,072,000
Total Player Compensation	$20,657,000

Ranking points

Ranking points for the ATP and WTA have varied at the US Open through the years but presently singles players receive the following points:

Ranking points
	ATP	WTA
1st Round	10	5
2nd Round	45	100
3rd Round	90	160
4th Round	180	280
Quarter Finalist	360	500
Semi Finalist	720	900
Runner Up	1200	1400
Champion	2000	2000

Current champions

Event	Champion	Runner-up	Score
2010 Men's Singles	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
2010 Women's Singles	Kim Clijsters	Vera Zvonareva	6–2, 6–1
2010 Men's Doubles	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi	7–6, 7–6
2010 Women's Doubles	Vania King Yaroslava Shvedova	Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova	2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4)
2010 Mixed Doubles	Liezel Huber Bob Bryan	Květa Peschke Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi	6–4, 6–4

Year^[d]	Country	Champion	Country	Runner-up	Score in the final
1968	USA	Arthur Ashe^[b]	NED	Tom Okker	14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1969	AUS	Rod Laver	AUS	Tony Roche	7–9, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
1970	AUS	Ken Rosewall	AUS	Tony Roche	2–6, 6–4, 7–6^(7–2), 6–3^[f]
1971	USA	Stan Smith	TCH	Jan Kodeš	3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6^(7–3)
1972	ROU	Ilie Năstase	USA	Arthur Ashe	3–6, 6–3, 6–7^(1–7), 6–4, 6–3
1973	AUS	John Newcombe	TCH	Jan Kodeš	6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2
1974	USA	Jimmy Connors	AUS	Ken Rosewall	6–1, 6–0, 6–1
1975	ESP	Manuel Orantes	USA	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
1976	USA	Jimmy Connors	SWE	Björn Borg	6–4, 3–6, 7–6^(11–9), 6–4
1977	ARG	Guillermo Vilas	USA	Jimmy Connors	2–6, 6–3, 7–6^(7–4), 6–0
1978	USA	Jimmy Connors	SWE	Björn Borg	6–4, 6–2, 6–2
1979	USA	John McEnroe	USA	Vitas Gerulaitis	7–5, 6–3, 6–3
1980	USA	John McEnroe	SWE	Björn Borg	7–6^(7–4), 6–1, 6–7^(5–7), 5–7, 6–4
1981	USA	John McEnroe	SWE	Björn Borg	4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3
1982	USA	Jimmy Connors	TCH	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
1983	USA	Jimmy Connors	TCH	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–7^(2–7), 7–5, 6–0
1984	USA	John McEnroe	TCH	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–4, 6–1
1985	TCH	Ivan Lendl	USA	John McEnroe	7–6^(7–1), 6–3, 6–4
1986	TCH	Ivan Lendl	TCH	Miloslav Mečíř	6–4, 6–2, 6–0
1987	TCH	Ivan Lendl	SWE	Mats Wilander	6–7^(7–9), 6–0, 7–6^(7–4), 6–4
1988	SWE	Mats Wilander	TCH	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4
1989	FRG	Boris Becker	TCH	Ivan Lendl	7–6^(7–2), 1–6, 6–3, 7–6^(7–4)
1990	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Andre Agassi	6–4, 6–3, 6–2
1991	SWE	Stefan Edberg	USA	Jim Courier	6–2, 6–4, 6–0
1992	SWE	Stefan Edberg	USA	Pete Sampras	3–6, 6–4, 7–6^(7–5), 6–2
1993	USA	Pete Sampras	FRA	Cédric Pioline	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
1994	USA	Andre Agassi	GER	Michael Stich	6–1, 7–6^(7–5), 7–5
1995	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Andre Agassi	6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
1996	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Michael Chang	6–1, 6–4, 7–6^(7–3)
1997	AUS	Patrick Rafter	GBR	Greg Rusedski	6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5
1998	AUS	Patrick Rafter	AUS	Mark Philippoussis	6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–0
1999	USA	Andre Agassi	USA	Todd Martin	6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(2–7), 6–3, 6–2
2000	RUS	Marat Safin	USA	Pete Sampras	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
2001	AUS	Lleyton Hewitt	USA	Pete Sampras	7–6^(7–4), 6–1, 6–1
2002	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Andre Agassi	6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4
2003	USA	Andy Roddick	ESP	Juan Carlos Ferrero	6–3, 7–6^(7–2), 6–3
2004	SUI	Roger Federer	AUS	Lleyton Hewitt	6–0, 7–6^(7–3), 6–0
2005	SUI	Roger Federer	USA	Andre Agassi	6–3, 2–6, 7–6^(7–1), 6–1
2006	SUI	Roger Federer	USA	Andy Roddick	6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1
2007	SUI	Roger Federer	SRB	Novak Djokovic	7–6^(7–4), 7–6^(7–2), 6–4
2008	SUI	Roger Federer	GBR	Andy Murray	6–2, 7–5, 6–2
2009	ARG	Juan Martín del Potro	SUI	Roger Federer	3–6, 7–6^(7–5), 4–6, 7–6^(7–4), 6–2
2010	ESP	Rafael Nadal	SRB	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2