What is the US Open?
The US Open is the closing Grand Slam of the tennis season — the American major, played on hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York before the sport's largest and loudest crowds.[1] [2]
Who organizes it?
The United States Tennis Association (USTA), the national federation, owns and stages the tournament within the Grand Slam framework shared with the ITF and the tours.[1] [3]
When and where is it held?
Annually from late August through early September, at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York — Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world, at its heart.[1]
Since when does it exist?
First played in 1881 as the U.S. National Championships, the tournament became the US Open in 1968 and moved to Flushing Meadows in 1978. In 1973 it became the first major to pay men and women equal prize money — a landmark for the sport.[2] [1]
How do players qualify?
Grand Slam fields are built almost entirely on the world rankings: 128-player singles draws fill with direct acceptances by ATP/WTA ranking (roughly the world's top 100), a 16-player contingent that survives the three-round qualifying tournament the week before, and a small number of wild cards granted by the organizers.[1] Entry is individual — there are no national quotas — so a Grand Slam main-draw appearance is itself objective evidence of a world-class ranking. The events also stage doubles, mixed doubles, junior and wheelchair championships.[2]
Why does it matter?
The US Open pairs Grand Slam prestige with the richest purse in tennis — a record total of about $90 million in 2025 — and its two-week New York stage is the sport's biggest media platform. Titles, finals and even main-draw appearances there are first-order credentials.[1] [4]
References
- US Open — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — U.S. Open (tennis). Accessed August 2026.
- USTA — United States Tennis Association. Accessed August 2026.
- ATP Tour — official site. Accessed August 2026.