Sunday 8th September Jannik Sinner won the US Openbeating in the final in three sets (6-3, 6-4, 7-5) Taylor Fritz. For the Italian tennis player, originally from Alto Adige and currently number 1 in the world, it is the second Slam of his career, after the victory in the Australian Open. But what kind of tournament is the US Open? It is the last Grand Slam Tournament of the tennis season. It is played at the end of the summer in Flushing Meadowsa park in New York, and offers winners and other participants huge cash prizes and a large amount of leaderboard points. The tournament It has existed since 1881 and has been held every year since then. Over time, however, it has undergone several changes and today it has become a very popular event, followed by audiences from all over the world. Until a few years ago, the Italian tennis players they had never shone at the US Open, but recently they have managed to obtain successes in both the men’s and women’s singles. Jannik Sinner, in particular, was the first Italian to win the men’s singles tournament.
What is the US Open: Origins and Meaning
The US Open Tennis Championship, commonly referred to as the US Open, is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments along with the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and Roland Garros. It is organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and is played between August and September in New York on a synthetic surface. Each edition includes five tournaments: men’s and women’s singles; men’s, women’s and mixed doubles.
How much does a US Open winner earn?
The US Open guarantees all participants huge prize money. The prize money changes from year to year and at the last edition it reached a record amount: 75 million dollarssurpassing any other tennis tournament. The singles winners cashed in 3,600,000 dollars, but all the tennis players received a fee. The participation alone, with elimination in the first round, brought in 100,000 dollars. Being included in the Grand Slam, the US Open also guarantees many points for the ATP and WTA rankings: 2000 points for the winner, 1300 for the finalist and lower scores for all the others.
The venue of the tournament
The US Open is played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centerlocated in New York in Flushing Meadows Park. The main facility is theArthur Ashe Stadiumopened in 1997, which is the largest tennis stadium in the world and can accommodate nearly 24,000 spectators. Before the construction of the Arthur Ashe, the US Open’s center court was the Louis Armstrong Stadiumdemolished in 2016 and replaced with a facility of the same name, which can accommodate up to 14,000 people in the stands.
How long has the US Open been around? The history of the tournament
The US Open was born shortly after the introduction of tennis in the United States. The game, invented in the United Kingdom, arrived on the American continent in 1874, when the first matches were played. The tournament was born in 1881, which originally had the name of US National Championships and it was disputed on grass fields in newportin Rhode Island. In the first six years, only singles and doubles tournaments were held; in 1887, women’s singles and mixed doubles were added, and two years later, women’s doubles. Until 1911, the tournament was based on the challenge round: the reigning champion qualified directly for the final of the following edition, in which he challenged the winner of the preliminary tournament. The tournament gradually gained prestige and in 1915 it was moved to the West Side Club of the New York neighborhood of Forest Hills, a short distance from the current site. The fields were still grass.
The Grand Slam and the Open Era
In the 1930s, when the concept of the Grand Slam was born, the US Open immediately became part of it. Tennis, however, it wasn’t a popular sport yet and was practiced and followed only by members of the middle-upper classes.
Furthermore, the US Open and other Slam tournaments were open to amateur tennis players – that is, those who, at least in theory, did not earn money from the game – because tennis was divided into two large “compartments”, an amateur one and a professional one. The division ceased to exist in 1969, when thewas openstill ongoing.
Another important innovation came in 1975, when the USTA decided to change the surface from grass to green eartha terrain that is rarely used today (it exists almost exclusively in the United States), faster than red clay. The experiment lasted only three years because in 1978 the tournament venue was moved at Flushing Meadows Racetrackequipped with synthetic pitches.
Over the years the tournament has gained more and more popularity and today it is a big media eventfollowed all over the world. Unlike other Slams, the US Open has been played every year since its foundation and has not been interrupted even during the world wars.
The records of victories
Three tennis players, all Americans, have won the US Open seven times in their careers: Richard Searswinner of the first seven editions from 1881 to 1887; William Larned in the first decade of the twentieth century; Bill Tilden in the 1920s. Since the beginning of the open era, three tennis players have achieved five victories: Jimmy Connors in the 70s and 80s, Peter Sampras between 1990 and 2002 and Roger Federer from 2004 to 2008.
In the women’s category, the record for victories belongs to Mallory SpringNorwegian naturalized American, with eight successes between 1915 and 1926. In the open era, two players have won the tournament six times: Chris Everts And Serena Williams.
The results of the Italians before Sinner
In the men’s singles, two Italians reached the semi-finals: Corrado Barazzutti in 1977 and Matthew Berrettini in 2019. Jannik Sinnerwinner in 2024, was therefore not only the first Italian player to win the tournament, but also the first to reach the final.
Among women, Flavia Pennetta she won the 2015 edition, beating another Italian, Roberta Vinci, in the final. No other Italian tennis player has reached the final, but two Italians, Sara Errani and Vinci herself, won the doubles in 2012. In 2024, the mixed doubles tournament was also won by a couple from the Peninsula: Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.
