US Open: History, Venue, Most Titles And Other Key Facts About Grand Slam Played At Flushing Meadows

US Open: 10 Major Facts You Need To Know About The US Open Grand Slam Played At Flushing Meadows

Photo: AFP

The 140th edition of the US Open will get underway from Sunday (August 31) at the USTA Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows at New York in the United States. The grand slam tournament will be held from August 31 to September 13. The 2020 US Open will be the second Grand Slam after the Australian Open to be held in 2020. It would also be the first grand slam to be held behind empty doors amid the coronavirus era.

Both men's and women's singles defending champions Rafael Nadal and Bianca Andreescu will not be defending their titles as they pulled out of the event.

While former champions and tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be the notable absentees form the men's draw, six of the top 10 women's singles players have also given the tournament a miss citing coronavirus threat as the major reason.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic has been billed as the top seed for the tournament. Dominic Theim, Danil Medveded, Stefanos Tsisipas and Alexander Zverec round off the top five seeds in the men's singles.

In the women's singles draw, Karolina Pliskova, Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka round off the top five seeds.

Here are 10 major facts on the US Open Grand Slam tournament

GRAND SLAM - US Open is one of the four grand slams played on the ATP World tour circuit. It is usually the last grand slam held in the chronological order after the Australian Open, French Open and the Wimbledon (The Championships).

FORMAT: The US Open matches are played across five different categories namely, men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. Seven rounds of matches are held in the men's and women's singles draw to eventually decide on the eventual champion.

VENUE: The US Open is played out at the Billie Jean National Tennis Centre which is located in the Flushing Meadows- Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

INCEPTION AND HISTORY: The US Open is one of the oldest tournaments known to mankind with its beginning way back in 1881. The tournament which was earlier known as US Championships was first held on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island.

ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - The main court in the USTA complex is the 23,000-plus seating capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was opened up for staging matches in 1997. The stadium is named after Arthur Ashe, the African-American who won the men's singles title at the inaugural US Open in 1968.

EDITION: The 2020 Edition of the US Open will be the 140th edition of the Grand Slam since its inception back in 1881. The Slam of North America will be held behind closed doors for the very first time amid the coronavirus pandemic.

SURFACE: The US Open has been played on a synthetic hard court surface more known as the DecoTurf from 1978 till the last edition in 2019. It is a multi-layer cushioned surface and classified by the International Tennis Federation as medium-fast

MOST TITLES (OPEN ERA) - With five titles each, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have won the most singles titles at the US Open in the Open Era (1968). Meanwhile, Serena Williams has the record for the most women's singles titles in the open era. The American tennis greats have won the Grand Slam six times each.

MOST TITLES (ALL TIME) Bill Tilden, Bill Larned and Richard Sears tied at 7 US Open titles each have won the most US Open titles in the history of the tournament.

FIRST MEN's SINGLES CHAMPION: Richard Sears was the first tennis player to win the inaugural edition of the US Championships back in 1881. Sears won seven consecutive men's singles titles from 1881 to 1887.