US Open Tennis Courts
In its history of over 121 years, the US Open has been played on a variety of surfaces. These include
- Grass
- Har-Tru Clay
- DecoTurf
The US Open Tennis Courts:
- The main court is located in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
- Court number 2 is located in the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
- Court number 3 is located in the Grandstand Stadium.
- All courts are equipped with lighting and infrastructure for live telecast of matches.
- Since 2005, the US Open tennis courts have been color coded with blue inner courts and green outer courts.
- The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has 45 courts in all.
- Out of these, only 15 are used for US Open.
- DecoTurf is the most popular and recognized surface for tennis courts.
Arthur Ashe Stadium:
- The Arthur Ashe Stadium, named after a famous African American player Arthur Ashe, is the main stadium of Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
- Before Arthur Ashe Stadium was constructed, Louis Armstrong Stadium was the premier stadium of the US open tournament.
- The Arthur Ashe Stadium has four levels and a seating capacity of above 22, 000.
- Arthur Ashe Stadium also has 90 luxury suites, 5 restaurants and a two-level players’ lounge.
- The court at Arthur Ashe Stadium is made of DecoTurf.
Louis Armstrong Stadium:
- Louis Armstrong Stadium is the second tennis stadium of the U.S. Open.
- Louis Armstrong Stadium was named after the famous African American jazz musician, Louis Armstrong .
- The stadium was built in 1964 and began hosting US Open matches in 1977.
- Before Arthur Ashe Stadium came into being, the Louis Armstrong Stadium was the main stadium.
- Louis Armstrong Stadium was originally called “Singer Bowl”.
- Prior to renovation, the Louis Armstrong Stadium could accommodate 18, 000 people.
- Currently, Louis Armstrong Stadium holds a seating capacity of 10, 000.
Grandstand Stadium:
- Grandstand Stadium is the third largest stadium at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center.
- Grandstand Stadium is attached to the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
- Grandstand Stadium has a seating capacity of 6,000.
DecoTurf:
Currently the US open tennis tournament event is held at Flushing Meadows and the games are played on DecoTurf which is a hard surface.
The properties of hard court are:
- Hard courts are popular because they are “All Weather Surfaces”.
- Hard courts are made of concrete or asphalt.
- The surface of Hard courts is faster than clay and slower than grass.
- Hard courts do not offer any distinct advantage to any specific kind of player.
- DecoTurf is an acrylic hardcourt which is harder that synthetic hard courts like Plexicushion.
- The quality and amount of sand used in the coating material also affects the bounce and speed of the ball.
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