Starting on Monday, August 26, the 124th edition of the US Open will begin. The American tennis tournament is one of the four Grand Slams, the most important annual tournaments, and will see the best players in the world compete for this title over two weeks.
US Open
This tournament is traditionally the last Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season. The first edition of the US Open was held exclusively for men and took place in 1881 at the Newport Casino in the American state of Rhode Island. Six years later, a women’s tournament was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in the state of Pennsylvania. The singles events of both tournaments were moved to the West Side Tennis Club in New York in 1924, but it wasn’t until 1968 that both tournaments were officially merged into the US Open.
Initially, matches at the West Side Tennis Club were played on grass, but in 1975, the grass courts were replaced with clay. A few years later, the US Open moved again, this time to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Since then, matches have been played on hard courts. There is only one player who managed to win the title on all three surfaces: Jimmy Connors. The most important matches of the tournament are played at the Arthur Ashe Stadium within the Tennis Center.
Men’s Singles
The reigning champion is Novak Djokovic. The 37-year-old Serbian won his fourth US Open last year, leaving him with just one less title than his rival Roger Federer. Earlier this year at Wimbledon, Djokovic lost to the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, but he avenged that loss by defeating the same opponent in the Olympic final. Djokovic is currently ranked second, just behind the Italian Jannik Sinner.
Sinner won his first Grand Slam earlier this year at the Australian Open. He also lost to Carlos Alcaraz this year, in the semifinals of the French Open. Sinner missed the Olympics due to a tonsillitis, but he still managed to rise to the world number one ranking. This was largely due to an injury sustained by Novak Djokovic, but Sinner also won his first Grand Slam in June in Australia.
Carlos Alcaraz can make his historic year even better by adding the US Open to his Wimbledon and Roland Garros titles. However, he will likely have to face his rival Djokovic again, just as he did in the Wimbledon final. On the other hand, Djokovic managed to win at the Olympics in Paris. If they meet in America, it will be their ninth confrontation. So far, Djokovic has won five times, while Alcaraz has won three times. The Spaniard is currently ranked third in the world.
Women’s Singles
Coco Gauff will defend her Grand Slam title at the US Open for the first time. Her victory last year was also her first Grand Slam title. This year, she has often come close but fallen just short: she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, was knocked out in the fourth round at Wimbledon, and had to pack her bags after the third round at the Olympics. The 20-year-old American is currently ranked second in the world.
Her rival and world number one Iga Swiatek won the French Open this year, marking her 4th title in Paris and her 5th Grand Slam overall. It has been a successful year for the Polish player, who also won a bronze medal at the Olympics. However, like Gauff, she was eliminated early at Wimbledon, losing in the third round.
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka completes the top three in the world rankings. She has had a very emotional year, with a shoulder injury and the death of an ex-boyfriend. These setbacks have kept her from reaching her peak level, but she still managed to win her second Grand Slam title in Australia this year.
Czech player Barbora Krejcikova could also have a successful run at this year’s US Open. She already won Wimbledon this year, which was her second Grand Slam title in singles. Previously, she had won seven Grand Slam titles in doubles and was also an Olympic champion in doubles.
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