US Open Tennis Tickets
Some of the most highly sought-after Tennis Tickets in the land are those providing access to the US Open. Many people try years in advance to obtain quality tickets, while others leave to chance their ability to attend at the last moment.| Purchase your US Open Tennis Tickets from a LIVE Inventory, and be sure to guarentee yourself tickets today! |
History of the US Open
The U.S. Open started with two different and distinct tournaments: the men's event and the women's event. These tournaments took place for the first time in August of 1881, at a Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. Only the men's singles tournament was given the spotlight. Collectively, the championship was known as the US National Singles Championship for men. Needless to say, this left the women on a second track without the audience they now enjoy. Only clubs that held membership in the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter to enter these first few tournaments.It took until 1900 for the first doubles championship to be held. The mens event was dubbed the U.S. National Men's Doubles Championship. Two tournaments were staged seperately--one in the eastern United States, and one in the west. The winning team from each division would compete in a play-off with the winner taking the court against the defending championships from the year before in what was called the "challenge round". This play against the defending champion would define a specific era of tennis in the US. But US Open Tennis Tickets were still seemingly hard to get during this time frame, as the venues were considerably smaller, as was the base of customers.
The first women's final was held six years later. Held in Philadelphia, at the Phildelphia Cricket Club in 1887, the singles championship was immediately followed by the doubles event starting in 1889. Together, the two events were referred to as the U.S. Women's National Singles Championship. It was not until sometime later that what would become known as Mixed Doubles became a mainstream championship. Until then, the U.S. Mixed Doubles Championship was held alongside the Women's Singles and Doubles events.
With the Open Era beginning in 1968, all five of the individual events (Mens Singles, Mens Doubles, Womens Singles, Womens Doubles, and Mixed Doubles) were merged into a single newly named Grand Slam called the US Open. It was held in Queens, and the "Culb in Forest Hills". This first championship tournament joined professionals and more casual players, whereas neither former predecessor of the event allowed professionals to play at all. That first year, a total of 96 men and 63 woemn entered; the total price money combined to $100,000.
The US Open was first played on grass at Forest Hills until, in the mid-1970s, Forest Hills switched playing surfaces to a more modern "hard surface". In 1978, the event changed homes, residing since then at Flushing Meadows.
It is often asked whether obtaining US Open Tennis tickets was more difficult at Forest Hills that at Flushing Meadows. To answer that question, we simply look at the number of individuals now watching tennis events world-wide. The popularity of tennis in general has increased over the years, and with that, the number of tickets available to interested fans has only dwindled. It is always recommended that one plans ahead when deciding to travel to events such as the US Open Tennis Tournament.
Arthur Ashe Stadium
The US Open has a large number of different courts. Supreme among them all is the main court, which is located at the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium. Named for a thrilling African American tennis player, Arthur Ashe, who won the first mens final of the Open in 1968, it serves memory to a sports star and humanitarian. (It was that same year that Virginia Wade competed in and won the first womens US Open final, only five months after earning professional status.) Ashe would die in 1993 of AIDS, which he contracted from a transfusion during heart surgery. Formerly, the Louis Armstrong Stadium--now court number two--stood as the main court and center of attention at the US Open before the construction of the Ashe Stadium. All courts at the Open are constructed hard, which provides for a quicker version play than the British grass courts.Additionally, most of the courts hosting play the the US Open are lit. This is contrary to other Grand Slam events which must halt play at sunset. The advantage of this is two-fold: while allowing spectators to enjoy the summer event with less constraint of the summer heat, it also allows television stations to broadcast more matches in prime-time, thus revealing the game of tennis to each generation anew. In recent years, the ability to broadcast at night has been used to the stark advantage of networks such as USA on cable and CBS. Indeed, CBS influenced the US Open to move the women's singles final to a Saturday night, to draw a better TV audience, and thus better ratings for the network. In fact, it is the goal of ever network to discourage individuals from purchasing US Open Tennis tickets and instead have them stay home and watch the broadcasts on tv, thus increasing advertising revenue.
An interesting change took place before the 2005 Open. Courts which at one time were green were changed to a dark blue. This allowed both the players and spectators--both in the arena and at home--the ability to see the tennis ball (also green) much more easily.
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