The 2025 US Open main draw will get underway on a Sunday for the first time in history. Organisers have confirmed that the Grand Slam event will be held over 15 days, a move designed to allow more fan acces to the tournament.
In a released statement, the Unites States Tennis Association said that recrod crowd numbers in 2024 had led to the decision.
“The USTA today announced that after a third consecutive year of extraordinary demand and record-breaking attendance in 2024, the US Open Main Draw will expand to 15 competition days in 2025,” they said.
“This year’s US Open will feature the first weekend start to the main draw in the open era, beginning on Sunday, August 24, and running through Sunday, September 7.
“With more planned main draw competition days than ever and fan week featuring six days of free grounds admission prior to the main draw, the 2025 US Open is set to offer the most access for fans in the event’s 145-year history.
“The full, three-week US Open will run from August 18 to September 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.”
Last year was the third consecutive season that the US Open notched record crowd numbers. More than £1million people attended the live action over a fortnight, while the opening day drew the biggest single-day crowd in event history, with 74,641 spectators.
It was Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka who took the respective singles titles. The Italian has since backed that up by winning the Australian Open this month, with Sabalenka beaten in the final by Madison Keys.
The event in America, first held in 1881, moved to the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre in 1978. That was when the tournament’s court surface also switched to hardcourt, having been played on clay at the previous New York venue, West Side Tennis Club.
It’s not the first time the US Open had adopted a format unique to its tournament. Until 2022, it was the only Grand Slam event that used a tie-break to decide the fifth set.
However, revised rules now mean all four majors, if a match reaches 6-6 in the final set, are now settled by an extended tie-break. A player must reach 10 points and be clear by two, as opposed to the standard seven.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk