The United States Open Tennis Championship is the fourth and final major tennis competition that comprises the Grand Slam year. The other three tournaments are the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.
The US Open Tournament is played on hard courts, and is the modern version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the US National Championship, which was first contested by men’s singles players in 1881. The US Open is held every year and lasts for two weeks. It begins on the last Monday in August, and the duration of the competition always includes the Labour Day holiday. The main competition consists offive championship events, men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women doubles and mixed doubles. There are additional tournaments played as well, for senior players, junior players and wheelchair players. The US Open is played on the acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. The US Open is the only one of the Grand Slam tournaments that allows tie breakers in every set of a match. In the other Grand Slam events, a tie breaker is only employed in the last set of a match, and in the set played before the last set if play should reach a 6-6.
Many Innovations Introduced
In 1973, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournaments to award equal prize money to men and women, with that year’s singles champions receiving the same prize. Another innovation by the US Open tennis organisers was the introduction of floodlights in 1975, which enabled play to continue at night. All courts used by the US Open are now illuminated, allowing television coverage to be extended. In 2006 the US Open became the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to use the Hawk-eye computer system, enabling instant replay reviews of line calls.
The Huge Main Court
The main court is the huge Arthur Ashe Stadium that was opened in 1997, and seats nearly twenty three thousand spectators. In 2011 Court 17 was opened as a fourth show court, and this court is sunken into the ground, and known as The Pit. Court 17 also has large television screens and electronic line calling which allows challenges by the players.
Online Sportsbooks Very Convenient
If tennis is your favourite sport, you are lucky indeed, for there are tournaments arranged nearly every single week. Sportsbooks catering to tennis enthusiasts are available at many online casinos, and there is a wide range of betting options that you can use. All wagering options include all the matches, singles and doubles and mixed doubles matches, so you will find many opportunities for betting. You can bet on the scores of each specific match, the winners of each match within each tournament, or the number of sets played in the match. There are some online casinos who offer live sports betting, which is extremely exciting for anyone wishing to bet on the match, as the game can be followed live. You will be able to analyse each change in the fortunes of each player as it happens on court.
Betting on the US Open can be fun and profitable, but certainly anyone wishing to bet on a sports match should make sure they know as much as possible about the players taking part in the game, the rules of the game they are watching and the statistics and history of the players, as well as their current form.