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Courting Victory on Any Surface
Jimmy Connors holds a record unique to US Open competition and one that will probably never be matched, much less broken. He is the only player, male or female, to win the singles championship on three different surfaces. Connors won twice at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills-on grass in 1974 and on clay (Har-Tru) in 1976-before capturing his third championship on hard court (DecoTurf II) at the USTA National Tennis Center in 1978.
Chris Evert also holds a unique distinction in that she is the only player to win the women's singles title in the US Open on a clay court surface. She won the title at Forest Hills in 1975, 1976 and 1977-the only three years it was played on Har-Tru. Evert also won three times on the hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center (1978, 1980 and 1982).
Many doubles players have won titles on two surfaces but only one Betty Stove of the Netherlands in women's doubles was part of winning teams on all three (grass in 1972, clay in 1977 and hard court in 1979) in the same event. Both Billie Jean King and Rosemary Casals won titles on all three surfaces in various combinations of women's doubles and mixed doubles.
"US Open Blue" Courts
In 2005, the USTA debuted US Open Blue courts for the US Open and the US Open Series tournaments. This new court color scheme-a blue inner court surrounded by a green outer court-heightened visibility of the ball for players, fans attending tournaments and television viewers. In addition, it provided a signature look and identifiable link between the US Open Series and the US Open. This new look marked the first change of court color at the US Open since the event moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., in 1978 from Forest Hills.
"The new court color has been tested and proven to enhance visibility of the ball for both players and fans," said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, USTA."In addition, it provides an instant visual link between the US Open Series tournaments and the US Open, helping to create a unified 'regular season' for tennis leading up to the US Open."
Court Surfaces
The U.S. Championships has been played on three difference court surfaces since its inception in 1881. From 1881 to 1974, the tournament was played on grass courts at the various sites that have hosted the singles and doubles championships. In response to growing player criticism of the bounce of the ball on the grass courts of the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, the event changed to clay courts (Har-Tru) beginning with the 1975 US Open. In 1978, the US Open moved from the West Side Tennis Club to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. With the change of venue came a change from clay courts to hard courts as Deco-Turf II became the court surface for the US Open.
| Court Surfaces of the U.S. Championships/US Open | | Hardcourt (Deco-Turf II) | 1978-present | | Clay (Har-Tru) | 1975-1977 | | Grass | 1881-1974 |
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