13 interesting facts about the US Open Tennis Championship that you should know
On August 31, 1881, the first US Open tennis tournament was held. It was only for men and took place at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island.
Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis stadium in the world, with 23,771 seats. It was named after the winner of the first US Open in 1968. The building in 1997 cost $254 million.
Billie Jean King's 1973 boycott threat led to equal prize money for men and women. Tennis was the first sport to pay men and women equally.
The youngest winner was Tracy Austin, who won the US Open Championship in 1979 at the age of 16.
The longest U.S. Open match comes in at five hours and 26 minutes between the victorious Stefan Edberg, pictured, and Michael Chang in 1992.
The first sisters to play against each other in a grand slam final were Venus and Serena Williams. This happened at the US Open in 2001. Venus wins easily.
In 2006, the US Open was the first Grand Slam to let players use the Hawk-Eye system to challenge line calls.
Since 1978, matches have been played on a hard court covered with Deco turf. In 2007, the courts were painted blue to increase the contrast between the court and the ball for players and spectators.
From 1996 to 2011, the women's final was decided in just one set. This was by far the longest run in the history of Grand Slams.
Only three men who will compete in the 2021 US Open have won it before: Novak Djokovic (2011, 2015, and 2018), Andy Murray (2012), and Marin Cilic (2014).
Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have five US Open men's singles titles each. Chrissie Evert and Serena Williams both have six women's singles titles.
This year's total prize money is $42.68 million, which is the most of any grand slam. The winner gets $3.85 million. First-round singles losses pay $58,000, second-round losses pay S100,000.
The official drink of the US Open is the Honey Deuce, which is a refreshing mix of Grey Goose Vodka, lemonade, Chambord, crushed ice, and a frozen honeydew melon ball on top.