US Open Tennis History
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.
Who will be making US Open tennis history at the 2009 tournament?
