One of the world’s oldest (and largest) tennis tournaments, the US Open has been held annually since 1881. This is the fourth and final tournament of the Grand Slam tour and is held beginning in late August and concluding in early September. There are championship events in the following categories which are held at the US Open: Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. IN addition, the tournament features Seniors, Juniors and wheelchair events.
The US Open is different from the other tournaments in the Grand Slam like the Wimbledon. The US Tennis Open winners are determined by the person that wins the final set tie breaks. In the other tournaments the winners are determined by whoever wins by two games starting at the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women.
The event of the US Open is considered to be a high society event. The Wimbledon brings in the Queen of England or the leader of South Wales. Although royalty is not attending this event it is still held up high and gives more than $19 million dollars in prize money to the US Tennis Open winners, which is much more than other events. This tournament includes more than 600 players and gives many people the opportunity to be a winner.
The tournament is held in New York City at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center located at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. The events in this tournament are held on acrylic courts instead of grass as at Wimbledon.
With so much money in prizes to go around, there is intense competition and a great deal of interest on the part of players in entering the tournament. Winners of the championship events receive a whopping $1.5 million, with half as much going to runners-up, $320,000 to the semifinalists and half of this amount to quarterfinalists. There are smaller cash prizes as one goes on down the line. Even players who get nowhere near to capturing a championship still stand a chance of winning substantial prizes in the US Open.
US Open winners in doubles events also receive large cash prizes. Doubles winners split a total of $1.8 million. There is also half a million dollars in prize money to be won in the mixed doubles. The qualifying 128 draw events for both men and women pay up to one million – in total, there is over $20 million dollars in prize money to be won in this tournament.
Since there is simply so much prize money to go around, quite a few players go home with heavier wallets than is the case in other Grand Slam tournaments. Cash prizes are awarded to winning players in a large number of different events, making the US Open a perennial favorite with tennis fans and players alike, even in the rarified climate of the Grand Slam tour.
Tag: Grand Slam
Women In Tennis – Venus And Serena Williams
Venus and Serena Williams are two of the top women tennis players in the world. They recently won a gold medal in the doubles at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China. With the strides that these two women have made in the game of tennis in their many years of playing it’s hard for one not to think of them when the topic of tennis is being discussed.”
Venus Williams born June 17, 1980 is the oldest of the two sisters and currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Venus started playing tennis professionally in October 1994 at the age of 14. While she played a couple of tournaments in 1995 and 1996, she did not start playing tennis regularly on the tour until 1997. She debuted at the US Open but lost to Martina Hingis. In 1998 she won the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and French Open. In the span of her career she has won 16 Grand Slam titles including seven in singles, seven in women’s doubles and 2 in mixed doubles. She has also won three Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles events. She plays right-handed but has a two-handed backhand. In 2008, she struck the fastest serve by a woman in Wimbledon’s recorded history. She is very skilled at volleying and due to her long arms she can reach shots that alot of players would not try to play.
Serena Williams, born September 26, 1981 is currently considered the top ranked American female player in the game of tennis. She has won eight Grand Slam titles in the singles event and two Olympic gold medals the women’s doubles event. Serena began playing tennis at a very young age and won her first tournament at the age of four and a half. By the age of ten she had entered 49 tournaments and won 46 of them. Her first professional event was at a tournament in Quebec City. She first ranked in the WTA top 20 in 1998. She moves very quickly around the tennis court and plays very agressively. She is primaraly a baseline player but she is very capable of overpowering her opponents with her serves. While tennis is her career she has also taken the time out to start a clothing line called Aneres. She has also done several acting jobs including roles in ER, Hair Show, The Division and My Wife and Kids. In “”Men’s Fitness”” magazine Serena was asked what she would be doing if she wasn’t a tennis pro and she stated that she loves writing and acting and would probably be a struggling actress or writer.
If you want to become the next Serena or Venus – you need to start practising! So visit the Tennis Section at VideoJug today and learn the techniques from the experts free of charge.
Roger Federer Tennis
With 4 Tennis Master’s Cup titles, 13 Grand Slam singles titles, 14 ATP Masters Series titles and an Olympic Gold Medal, Roger Federer is nothing if not a champion. Between Wimbledon in 2005 and the 2007 US Open, Federer appeared in 10 consecutive Grand Slam men’s singles finals and has won 19 of these titles in his career. Federer currently hold the record for most consecutive Grand Slam singles titles (an incredible 19) and currently ranks as the number 2 tennis player in the world; he held the top spot from February 2004 to August 2008 and won the coveted Laureus World Sportsman award in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Roger Federer was born in August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. He spent most of his childhood in Munchenstein, Switzerland near the French-German boarders with his parents- Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and was even given the honor of meeting Pope Benedict XVI while playing at the 2006 Internazionali BNL d’ Italia tournament held in Rome. Although Federer considers French-Germa as his native language, he can speak German, French and English fluently.
Even at the age of six it was obvious that Federer was a born athlete. He begun tennis lessons at the age of nine, working under the tutelage of a private coach by the time he was ten. Federer also played football and cricket as a teenager; both of which he also showed great potential for. However, he ultimately decided to make his career in tennis, though he continued to play cricket in the off-season. He had won all of the national championships open to him at the age of fourteen, being awarded with the opportunity to train at the Ecublems-based Swiss National Tennis Center. Feder joined the ITF junior tennis circuit in 1996, turning pro by 1998; this year saw him winning the ITF Junior Tennis championship as well as the junior WInbledon and the Orange Bowl.
Most tennis players are specialists who play their best on a particular type of court. However, Federer is well known for is performance on courts of all types. As one sportswriter said, you can be a clay court specialist, a hard court specialist or a grass court specialist – or you can be Roger Federer. Federer uses a hybrid semi-western and eastern grip and is best known for his powerful, precisely aimed groundstroke; although his volleys are also certainly something to behold.
Roger Federer has earned an incredible 57 singles titles in his career and has been named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people (in 2007). Federer is active in charity work, having established the Roger Foundation in 2003; the group works to help the disadvantaged and to promote sports to youth. We have yet to see the best years of Federer’s career; it is easy to forget that he is only 27 when you consider how much he has already achieved.
Us Open Tennis Tournament, Us Open Championships History, Us Open Venues, About Us Open.
US Open Tennis Tournament Introduction:
US Open Tennis Championship is one among the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
The US Open Grand Slam:
* The US Open Tennis Tournament is the final event of the Grand Slam of the year.
* US Open take place during the month of August and September every year.
* US Open Tennis undergoes for two weeks.
* The US Open is played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
* The presence of final set tie-breaks is unique aspect of US Open Tennis.
* Richest tennis tournament in the world is US Open Grand Slam.
Championships Played in US Open Tennis:
* Mens Singles Championships
* Womens Singles Championships
* Mens Doubles Championships
* Womens Doubles Championships
* Mixed Doubles Championships
* Senior Players Championships
* Junior Players Championships
* Wheelchair Players Championships
History of US Open Tennis Tournaments :
General Facts about US Open Tennis Championships:
* The US Open Tennis was first held in August 1881.
* The US Open was formerly an event meant exclusively for the elite.
* The total prize money was placed at US Open Tennis is $17 million.
* About 600 professional players competed for the title and the prize money.
* The first ever venue for US Open Tennis was the Newport Casino in Rhode Island.
* In the beginning, US Open consisted of two separate tournaments for men and women.
* Originally, the event was known as the U.S. National Singles Championships.
* The event was accessible only to associations that were a part of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association.
* The years 1884-1911 saw the trend of challenge system which allowed a defending champion to automatically qualify for the next years finals.
* Two best teams were selected from the east and west regions which competed against each other in the play-offs.
Venues where US Open Tennis Tournament Played:
The tennis championships were hosted at various venues over the years.
* 1881 – 1915 – The Newport Casino, Newport, New York City
* 1916 – 1920 – West Side Tennis Club , Forest Hills, New York
* 1921 – 1923 – Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia
* 1924 – 1978 – West Side Tennis Club , Forest Hills, New York
* 1978 – present – USTA National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, Corona Park.
Landmarks of US Open Tennis:
* For the first six years, the National Championships consisted of only mens national championships.
* In the subsequent years, many other championships were introduced.
The following years mark events that were significant to the development of US Open Tennis:
* 1887: The first U.S. Women’s National Singles Championship was held officially at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
* 1889: U.S. Women’s National Doubles Championships were held for the first time along with US Mixed Doubles.
* 1900: the U.S. National Men’s Doubles Championships were introduced
The beginning of US Open Tennis Tournament:
* US Tennis Open officially came into existence in 1968 after the culmination of five different championships into a single event.
* Entry into the tournament was no longer restricted to the elite and all professionals could participate.
* 98 men and 63 women took part in the first US Open Tournament.
* The first US Open was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens.
* The prize money was stepped upto $100,000.
* The concept of final set tie-breaks was introduced in 1970.
* Instant replay was applied to the US Open Tournament in 2006.
Surfaces on Which US Open Tennis Championship is Played:
* Till 1975, the US Open Tennis matches were played on grass.
* From 1975-1978, US Open Tennis matches were played on Har-Tru clay courts.
* Now US Open Tennis matches are played on DecoTurf.
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French Open Tennis, Roland Garros Championship History, Records.
The French Open Tennis has an intriguing history. The event:
Dates back to 1891 with the first womens tournament in 1897.
French Open Tennis was first held in Paris.
French Open Tennis is 112 years old
Originated in England
Began with a one-day national championship.
French Open went international in 1925
French open tennis was not held officially from 1939-45, during the World War-II.
The period after the war is said to be the Golden Era in French Tennis.
French Open Tennis was initially played on grass.
A red- clay court was first introduced in 1921.
French open is officially referred to as the Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros
French open tennis currently held at the Stade Roland Garros.
The Stade Roland Garros became the home of French Open Tennis after the Four French Musketeers- Jacques “Toto” Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Ren Lacoste defeated Americans at the Davis Cup in 1927.
In the history of French Open Tennis, the first players to take home the French Open Championships were:
Franoise Masson for the first womens tournament in 1897
Rose wall for being the first to claim the French Open’s 15,000 francs prize money
Henri Cochet for winning the first French open men’s title in the inaugural year at the Stade Roland Garros in 1928.
Althea Gibson for becoming the first African-American player to win a Grand Slam event in 1956
French Open has come a long way since its humble beginning. Presently, the French Open Tennis Championship:
Is held in Paris, France
French open ranks second in the Grand Slam tournaments after Australian Open
French open tennis declares a prize money of 15, 264, 500 Francs
French open grand slam event held outdoors on a clay court.
This event is considered one of the toughest and physically demanding games.
French open tennis has been inaugurated on a Sunday and 12 singles matches are being played across three courts since 2006.
French open announced equal prize money for men’s tournament and women’s tournament since 2007.
French Open Tennis Clay Court:
Playing on a clay court is different from the traditional lawn-tennis in many ways.
A clay court reduces the speed of the ball.
On the red clay of Roland, the ball’s forward speed is converted to upward bounce.
The hitter gets a higher point of contact and a little more time.
Requires special skill and practice to get accustomed to the clay court surface.
Clay court favors baseline players and heavy top-spinners
A clay court facilitates longer swings from below to above the point of contact.
Players who specialize in playing on clay courts(French Open Tennis) are:
Rafael Nadal,
Gustavo Kuerten and
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Bjorn Borg
Henri Cochet
Gustavo Kuerten
Rene Lacoste
Ivan Lendl
Mats Wilander
Famous players who are not suited to play on the clay court are:
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer
Jimmy Connors
Lindsay Davenport,
Maria Sharapova, and
Martina Hingis
Dimensions of the French Open Tennis Clay Court
Length of clay court is 78 feet (23.77 m)
oClay court width for singles matches: 27 feet (8.23 m)
oClay court for doubles matches: 36 feet (10.97 m).
Net: net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center.
Additional clear space around the clay court: 60 feet by 120 feet.
Deuce court is the court on the right side of each player.
The court on the left side of each player is called the ad court.
Roland Garros and The French Open Tennis:
Roland Garros was a dare-devil aviator during the First World War.
Roland Garros was the first man to fly over the Mediterranean Sea in 1913.
Garros was an honored member of the Stade Francaise.
Stade Francaise was handed over to the French Tennis Federation on the condition that it is named after Roland Garros.
The stadium was named after this legendary pilot a decade after Roland death.
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