List of US Open women's singles champions
The US Open women's singles championship is an annual tennis event that is being held since 1887 as part of the US Open[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] tournament. The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts[lower-alpha 3] at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, New York City.[6][1]
Location | Queens – New York City United States |
---|---|
Venue | USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center |
Governing body | USTA |
Created | 1887 |
Editions | 132 (2018) Open Era: 51 (2018) |
Surface | Grass (1887–1974) Clay (1975–1977) Hard (1978–present) |
Prize money | Total: US$36,324,000 (2016) Winner: US$3,500,000 (2016) |
Trophy | US Open Trophy |
Website | Official website |
Most titles | |
Amateur era | 8: Molla Bjurstedt Mallory |
Open era | 6: Chris Evert 6: Serena Williams |
Most consecutive titles | |
Amateur era | 4: Molla Bjurstedt Mallory 4: Helen Jacobs |
Open era | 4: Chris Evert |
Current champion | |
Naomi Osaka (Second title) |
The US Open is played during a two-week period in late August and early September and has been chronologically the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis year since 1987.[3] The Philadelphia Cricket Club (1887–1920) and Forest Hills (1921–1977) hosted the event before it settled in 1978 at its current site.[2] The United States Tennis Association is the national body that organizes this event.
The champion receives a full-size replica of the event's trophy engraved with her name.[7] In 2016, the winner received prize money of US$3,500,000.[8][9] A bonus pool of US$1,000,000 is also paid to US Open champions who finished in first place during the US Open Series.[10]
History
The format of the women's singles event has undergone several changes since the first edition. From 1888 through 1918, the event started with a knockout phase, the All-Comers singles, whose winner faced the defending champion in a challenge round.[11] The All-Comers winner was awarded the title by default six times (1893, 1899, 1900, 1905, 1906 and 1907) in the absence of the previous year's champion. The challenge round system was abolished with the 1919 edition.[12] Since 1887, all matches have been played as the best-of-three sets, except in the eleven-year period from 1891 until 1901, when the challenge round was scored the best-of-five-sets.[12] From 1894 until 1901 the women were required to play best-of-five sets in both the all-comers final and the challenge round.[13]
Format
Since 1887, the winner of the next game at five-games–all took the set in every match except the All-Comers final and the challenge round, which was won by the player who had won at least six games and at least two games more than his opponent. This advantage format was introduced for the final sets of early rounds, for women starting in 1887, and used for all sets in final rounds from 1887 through 1969.[14] The tie-break system was introduced in 1970 for all sets, in its best-of-nine points sudden death version until 1974, and in its best-of-12 points lingering death version since 1975.[14][4][15] The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament to have a third set tie-break, which has occurred twice in women's singles finals in 1981 and in 1985.[3]
Surface
The court surface changed twice, from grass (1887–1974), to Har-Tru clay (1975–1977), to hard courts since 1978.[16] No women's tennis player won the event on all three surfaces, and no women's tennis player won it on both grass and clay. Chris Evert was the only one to win the event on clay and on hard court, thereby making her the only woman to win on two different surfaces at the event.
Finals
- Key
Regular competition |
All Comers' winner, Challenge round winner ‡ |
Defending champion, Challenge round winner † |
All Comers' winner, no Challenge round ◊ |
U.S. National Championships
![](../I/Moore_2162906635_5b2a6b4be8_o.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Hazel_Hotchkiss_Wightman_1910.jpg.webp)
![](../I/MollaMallory1924a.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-07878%252C_Helen_Wills_Moody.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Maureen_Connolly_1953.jpg.webp)
US Open
![](../I/Billie_Jean_King_by_David_Shankbone.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Chris_Evert_playing_tennis_at_Camp_David.png.webp)
![](../I/Steffi_Graf_f%C3%BCr_Rexona.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Serena_Williams_US_Open_2013.jpg.webp)
Statistics
In the U.S. National Championships, under the challenge round format, Elisabeth Moore (1896, 1901, 1903, 1905) holds the record for most singles titles with four and Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (1909–1911) holds the record for most consecutive women's singles titles at three. With four consecutive singles titles each, Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (1915–1918) and Helen Jacobs (1932–1935) hold the record for most consecutive women's singles titles won after the challenge round format was abolished. Bjurstedt Mallory's eight singles titles (1915–1918, 1920–1922, 1926) is the all-time record.[3]
During the US Open, since the inclusion of the professional tennis players, Chris Evert (1975–1978) holds the record for most consecutive women's singles titles at four and the record for most overall titles at six (1975–1978, 1980, 1982) with Serena Williams (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012–2014).[3]
This event has been won without losing a set during the open era by Margaret Court in 1969, Billie Jean King in 1971 and 1972, Evert in 1976, 1977 and 1978, Martina Navratilova in 1983 and 1987, Monica Seles in 1992, Steffi Graf in 1996, Martina Hingis in 1997, Lindsay Davenport in 1998, Venus Williams in 2001, Serena Williams in 2002, 2008 and 2014, and Justine Henin in 2007.
Multiple champions
Title defended in the challenge round |
Champions by country
Former country ¤ |
Country | Amateur Era | Open Era | All-time | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 67 | 25 | 92 | 1887 | 2017 |
![]() | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1962 | 2011 |
![]() | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1988 | 2016 |
![]() | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2003 | 2010 |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1959 | 1966 |
![]() | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1891 | 1968 |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1915 | 1918 |
![]() | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2004 | 2006 |
![]() | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2018 | 2020 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1990 | 1990 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2015 | 2015 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1992 | 1992 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1991 | 1991 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2019 | 2019 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1937 | 1937 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1985 | 1985 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1994 | 1994 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1997 | 1997 |
See also
US Open other competitions
- List of US Open men's singles champions
- List of US Open men's doubles champions
- List of US Open women's doubles champions
- List of US Open mixed doubles champions
Grand Slam women's singles
Notes
- Known as the U.S. National Championships during the Amateur Era.[1][2]
- The tournament entered the Open Era with the 1968 edition, allowing professional players to compete alongside amateurs.[3][4]
- The US Open specifically uses DecoTurf hard courts, categorized as a "Medium" speed surface by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).[5]
- Each year is linked to an article about that particular event's draw.
- The 1917 U.S. National Championships, taking place during World War I, were held as a National Patriotic Tournament awarding no prize to the winner.[17]
- Czechoslovakia (TCH, 1918–1992), evolved into Czech Republic (CZE, 1992–present) and Slovakia (SVK, 1992–present).
- Martina Navratilova was born in Czechoslovakia, but competed as an American after the US Open in 1975, having sought asylum in the United States, which made her relinquish her Czechoslovakian citizenship.
- FRG was West Germany, but after unification in 1990 became just Germany (GER).
- FR Yugoslavia (YUG, 1992–2003) and Serbia and Montenegro (SCG, 2003–2006), evolved into Serbia (SRB, 2006–present) and Montenegro (MNE, 2006–present).
- All two wins by players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922).
References
- General
- "History > Women's Singles Championships". usopen.org. IBM, United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- "US National/US Open Championships" (PDF). usta.com. United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- Specific
- "History of the U.S. National Championships/US Open". usopen.org. IBM, United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- "US National/US Open Championships" (PDF). usta.com. United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- "History > Women's Singles Championships". usopen.org. IBM, United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
- "History > Year-by-Year History". usopen.org. United States Tennis Association (USTA). Retrieved 2017-02-04.
- "List of Classified Court Surfaces". itftennis.com. ITF Licensing. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- "Tournament profile - US Open". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- Fendrich, Howard (2008-10-09). "Federer feels 'much better ... than I ever have'". USA Today. Associated Press (AP). Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- E.J. Crawford (July 12, 2016). "2016 US Open to feature richest purse in tennis history". United States Tennis Association (USTA).
- Andrew Das (July 12, 2016). "Record Prize Money at U.S. Open". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times.
- "Olympus US Open Series at a glance". usopenseries.com. United States Tennis Association. 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- "Elisabeth Holmes Moore HOF Page". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 453, 465–468. ISBN 978-0942257700.
- Ohnsorg, Roger W. (2011). Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion; includes "The First Forty Years of American Tennis". Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4269-4514-4.
- Axthelm, Pete; Talbert, William F. (1967). Tennis observed: The USLTA men's singles champions, 1881-1966. Barre Publishers.
- "Breaking with tradition". The Age. The Age Company Ltd. 2004-01-25. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- Adams, Susan B. (1998-08-30). "The U.S. Open: A Celebration - A Retrospective: The Men; Twin Pillars of Fire and Ice". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- Williams, Paul B.; Grupp, George W.; Ferris, John A. (1921). United States Lawn Tennis Association and the World War. United States National Lawn Tennis Association, Robert Hamilton company. OCLC 07888301. Retrieved 2009-09-25.