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.
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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 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.
For More Information on US Open Tennis Grand Slam Go through “Altius Directory (http://www.altiusdirectory.com)”
A tennis shirt is actually what most people are referring to when they say “polo shirt” or “golf shirt.” These are a type of t-shirt that has a collar, two or three buttons down the front slit, and two side slits on the bottom. They often come with a chest pocket and made from such fine fabrics as; knitted pique cotton, merino wool, and silk.
Rene Lacoste, a 7-time tennis Grand Slam winner from France, is credited as the first person to create the tennis shirt when he introduced his shirt design in 1929. The idea of creating the shirt came to Lacoste because the tennis apparel up to that time consisted of long-sleeved shirts, trousers and ties. The clothes worn by tennis players on the tennis court during the 19th and early 20th centuries were more appropriate for offices. Besides, the dress shirts worn on the courts were stiff and the ties heavy.
On the other hand, Lacoste’s tennis shirt had a thick collar, was loose and non-starched, was made of pique cotton, had side slits at the bottom, and sported a longer shirt-tail. The thick collar, when turned up, provided protection to the neck so that the player didn’t get sun burned.
What’s interesting about Lacoste’s tennis shirt was that polo players were already wearing shirts of the same design since the late 19th century. Back then, they wore long-sleeved shirts that had a button-down collar. These shirts were made of thick Oxford-cloth cotton. Even though the collar of this shirt-style was thick and didn’t constantly flap from the wind, these polo shirts were still not comfortable nor were they convenient to wear. Thus, when polo players discovered Lacoste’s shirt design during the 1930s, they didn’t think twice about adopting his design for their polo shirt.
It didn’t take long for tennis shirts and polo shirts to be synonymous. When the 1950s came around, polo shirts were regarded as formal tennis attire in the United States. Even tennis players were calling their attire “polo shirt”. In reality, though, the “polo shirt” was actually first worn during a tennis game and not during a polo game.
The polo shirt reached its peak of popularity in 1967 when Ralph Lauren introduced his original clothing line aptly named Polo. Ralph Lauren’s shirts weren’t made for players to wear during polo games but the association of the polo shirt with the idea of leisure propelled his shirt into an instant hit with non-polo players.
Golf attire used to be formal, but in the 20th century, golf players started to wear less formal and more easygoing golf apparel. It wasn’t just polo players who started adopting the tennis shirt as standard sports attire, but golf players as well. Today, you’ll see most golf players wearing these shirts at tournaments. However, since golf is very different from tennis, the tennis shirts for golf players has to have a different cut design which differentiates the golf shirt from a tennis shirt.
Tennis shirts are so common today; they are worn by practically anyone whether they play sports or not. Men and women wear them regardless of occasion. Clothing companies typically have their own version of Lacoste’s shirt. These shirts are the perfect attire for times when round-collar t-shirts are too informal and formal business wear is too overdressed. You’ll find semi-professional people and those in the retail industry often wearing tennis shirts to work. In many workplace environments, these shirts are acceptable work attire as they’re smart and casual.
Then in the 1990s, the tennis shirt became the standard attire (business informal/casual) in the high-tech industry. This eventually spread to other industries. Companies eventually started printing their logos on tennis shirts when they became the corporate apparel. This way, the shirts provide the ultimate casual work wear while setting corporate identity and uniformity among employees at the same time.
In sports, tennis shirts are the standard attire. Caddies, umpires, and sports announcers wear tennis shirts. The shirts are also commonly worn in schools both by teachers and students. In many schools, these shirts are actually the required uniform.
Tennis shirts are, above all, associated very closely with sports, so most tennis shirts come in light colors, with white being the most typical color. Aside from the color, the “tennis tail” is another feature of the shirt design. Tennis shirts typically have a back that is a few centimeters longer than the front of the shirt. This is actually an original design by Lacoste. The tennis tail is designed such that when a tennis player leans forward, the back of the shirt remains tucked in his shorts.
With over 90% of all humans on the planet being right-handed, one would assume that the list of all-time tennis greats would be dominated by those who swing their rackets from the right. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Despite being in a definite minority, southpaws can boast of a slew of great tennis players from both the men’s and women’s side of the game. Here are the top five left-handed tennis players of all-time:
Rafael Nadal
The only active player to make the list, Nadal has won six Grand Slam titles to date despite playing in the same era as Roger Federer, who some consider to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Nadal is perhaps most famous for his success on clay courts, with over 160 victories on the surface since 2005.
John McEnroe
McEnroe was one of the most successful players of the 1970s, with seven Grand Slam titles to his name. While he may have possessed the best lefty backhand in the history of tennis, McEnroe is perhaps best remembered for his temper and the many heated arguments he had with line judges on the court. In addition to being a great left-handed player he is also known as The Bad Boy of Tennis.
Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors was fortunate enough to make 15 Grand Slam title matches and win eight of them. A contemporary of another left-handed tennis great, John McEnroe, the two had many famous championship matches against each other during their careers. The calm professionalism of Connors proved to be the perfect foil for the hot-headed McEnroe and made for an engaging spectacle.
Martina Navratilova
The only woman to make the top five, Navratilova is widely regarded as the greatest female player of all time. Her accomplishments in the game of tennis are staggering: 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
Rod Laver
When most modern tennis fans discuss the greatest players ever, the conversation is usually dominated by recent names (and right-handers) such as Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. While these players certainly belong in the discussion, the accomplishments of Rod Laver are often overlooked because of the era in which he played. The Australian Laver won 11 Grand Slam titles in the 1960s and 1970s and was one of the best amateur tennis players in the world for years prior to that. He is one of only five players to win Grand Slam tournaments on each of the three surfaces of grass, clay, and hardcourt.