The US Open is the fourth and final instalment in the annual Grand Slam tournaments, beginning on the last Monday in August and lasting or two weeks, which means the middle weekend coincides with the Labor Day holiday.
Unlike the French Open which is played on clay, and Wimbledon which is played on grass, the US Open is played on a hard surface. The material is called Pro DecoTurf which is a multilayered cushioned surface which has slightly less friction and lower bounce qualities when compared to most hard courts. They are distinctively painted blue with white stripes to allow optimum viewing from the back of the stands and also on the television.
The event consists of five main championships spread over 22 courts and 2 weeks. The championships are the men's singles, the women's singles, the men's doubles, the women's doubles and also the mixed doubles. There are also additional tournaments for senior players, junior players, and wheelchair players. The event is hosted by USTA (the United States Tennis Association) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York City. Players compete for world rankings, a trophy and a cash prize, with the winners of the singles events taking home $3.5 million (figure from 2016) and adding 2000 points to their ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women's Tennis Association) profiles.
As this is a Grand Slam event, you can always expect to see all of the top names in tennis competing, providing they are not recovering from an injury. Every year sees historic tennis records smashed and some tense edge of your seat action. It is a knockout tournament which sees a large number of competitors taking on each other in succession until only two remain to battle out in the final. The US Open is the only Grand Slam event that uses tie breakers in every set of the match, unlike the other events which only employ these in the last set. The event also makes use of the Hawk-Eye computer system to help with line call challenges and umpiring conflicts.
With spectator attendance reaching around the 700,000 mark yearly, this is a massive event on the ATP calendar. For those unable to attend the competition, there is excellent media coverage of all of the matches through ESPN and the Tennis Channel. Those who can attend the event have access to a range of formal and informal dining establishments, workshops and some world class tennis action. There are plenty of easy connections using public transport to get to the venue from all over New York with subway line 7 providing easy and convenient access. This is much easier than trying to fight your way against the traffic and to search for a car parking spot, although this is also possible.
Ticket pre-sales tend to start around June for the following event in August. More information can be found on the US open official website (usopen.org) including playing schedules, ticket prices and news from the tennis community.