All About The Majors
Quick Facts About the Australian Open:
- It's the first tournament of the calendar year, played in January.
- It's played on hard court, like the US Open.
- The Australian Open holds the record for highest attendance of any tennis tournament, with 812,174 people in attendance (2020).
- It's the youngest of the grand slams, established in 1905.
- Novak Djokovic has won this tournament more times than anyone else, a staggering 10 times!
For ticket information, visit the Australian Open's Home Page.
Quick Facts About the French Open:
- This tournament is played on clay courts, unlike any other major.
- Rafael Nadal is the king of clay, with 13 French Open titles under his belt.
- The trophies are made of pure silver, designed and made by Maison Mellerio dits Meller.
- The longest clay court match played at Roland Garros was 6 hours and 33 minutes (in 2004)!
- The courts are made out of layers of sand and volcanic rocks, with a few inches of limestone and red brick dust.
- The tournament is named after the first man to fly solo over the Mediterranean, French aviator Roland Garros.
For ticket information, visit the French Open's Home Page.
Quick Facts About Wimbledon:
- The first year of the tournament was 1877 (The oldest tennis tournament in the world).
- It's played on grass, unlike any of the other majors.
- Players have to follow a strict dress code, only the color white is allowed in their outfits.
- Tickets for the men's singles finals run as much as 10,000 pounds.
- Roger Federer has won 8 Wimbledon titles. That's one more than Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras.
For ticket information, visit Wimbledon's Home Page.
Quick Facts About the US Open:
- It's the last grand slam of the year, held in Flushing, New York, played in August into September.
- The US Open has been played on all 3 kinds of court surfaces, grass (1881-1974), clay (1975-1977), and hard-court surface (1978-present). The famous blue courts were introduced in 2007.
- Equal prize money was introduced for the first time at any grand slam, and tennis became the first sport to, in 1973.
- Home to the biggest tennis stadium in the world, the Arthur Ashe Stadium can seat 23,771 people.
- Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors all tie for the record of most US Open titles, each with 5.
For ticket information, visit the US Open's Home Page.
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