US Open Series
The US Open Series is the name given by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for a series of North American professional tennis tournaments leading up to and including the US Open. It is part of the U.S. or "North American hard court season". Emirates currently sponsors the series, under a deal in place from 2012 to 2018.[1]
The series was initially organized in 2004 as a way to focus more attention on American tennis tournaments by getting more of them on domestic television.[2] Until 2004, most summer North American tournaments were not on television, the exceptions being the prominent ATP Tour Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati.
Under the US Open's broadcast rights, ESPN has held domestic rights to all US Open Series events since 2015. The eight non-Masters tournaments receive about 50 hours of television combined – about two hours on each day of their final weekends, chiefly on ESPN2. The dual-gender Washington D.C. Citi Open (the only ATP 500-level tournament in North America), which had been a part of the series since its 2004 founding, withdrew from the series for its 2015 edition due to frustrations over this lack of coverage; that tournament sold its exclusive coverage to Tennis Channel.[3][4] The tournament re-joined the US Open Series in 2019, but continues to maintain its broadcast rights with Tennis Channel.[5]
Bonus Challenge
Players earn points for the US Open Series Bonus Challenge in order to win a bonus on top of the individual series tournaments' prize money, according to their results in these events. More points are awarded at some of the events, such as the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 events.[6] The three male and three female players with the most points in the US Open Series Bonus Challenge earn a money purse. The amount depends on their US Open Series placement and US Open result. If both are won then the bonus is $1 million as of 2010.
Lleyton Hewitt and Lindsay Davenport were the top point-getters in 2004, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters won in 2005, and Andy Roddick and Ana Ivanovic won in 2006. Defending US Open champions Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova won in 2007.
In 2005, whereas Roddick was upset in the first round against Gilles Müller at the Open, Clijsters became the first player to win both the US Open Series and the US Open, receiving $2.2 million, at the time the largest payday in women's sports. Clijsters defeated Frenchwoman Mary Pierce in straight sets: 6–3, 6–1.[7] In 2010 she won $2.2 million again, this time $1.7 million for the US Open title and $500,000 in bonus for second place in the US Open Series.[8]
In 2007, Federer became the first male player and the second player overall to win the US Open Series and go on to win the US Open, winning $1.4 million plus the US Open Series bonus of $1 million, bringing his prize winning total to $2.4 million.[9] This topped Clijsters' $2.2 million as the biggest US Open payday to date.
In 2013, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal both won the US Open after also winning the US Open Series. Due to several considerable prize money increments over the years, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal surpassed Roger Federer's Us Open series payday record by winning $3.6 million each, and they shared the record for the largest prize money paycheck in tennis history for a single tennis tournament. [10][11]
In 2014, Serena Williams would repeat her previous year performance in winning both the US Open Series and the US Open. She now stands alone in the record for the biggest payday in tennis history, with a total amount of $4 million.[12]
Starting from 2017, the US Open Series will not feature a Bonus Challenge.[13][14]
Series tournaments
Tournaments
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam Event |
| ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 |
| ATP World Tour 500 & 250 and WTA Premier |
In 2019, the US Open Series comprises the following tournaments:[15]
| Week | Men's Events | Women's Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Week of July 22) | Atlanta BB&T Atlanta Open | N/A |
| 2 (Week of July 29) | Washington, D.C. Citi Open | San José Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic |
| 3 (Week of August 5) | Montreal/Toronto Rogers Cup | |
| 4 (Week of August 12) | Cincinnati Western & Southern Open | |
| 5 (Week of August 19) | Winston-Salem Winston-Salem Open | N/A |
| 6–7 (Weeks of August 26 / September 2) | New York US Open | |
Points distribution
2008–2016
| Round | ATP Masters 1000 WTA Premier 5 |
ATP World Tour 500 & 250 WTA Premier |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||
| Semifinalist | ||
| Quarterfinalist | ||
| Round of 16 |
2006–2007
| Round | ATP Masters Series WTA Tour Tier I |
ATP International Series WTA Tour Tier II |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | ||
| Finalist | ||
| Semifinalist | ||
| Quarterfinalist | ||
| Round of 16 |
2004–2005
| Round | ATP Masters Series WTA Tour Tier I |
WTA Tour Tier II | ATP International Series ($600,000 and above) |
ATP International Series (below $600,000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | ||||
| Finalist | ||||
| Semifinalist | ||||
| Quarterfinalist | ||||
| Round of 16 |
Past tournament winners
Men
| Year | Newport | Los Angeles | Indianapolis/Atlanta | Washington | Montreal/Toronto | Cincinnati | New Haven/Winston-Salem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Not US Open Series |  |  | .svg.png){kind=small} |  | | |
| 2005 | | | |  | | | |
| 2006 | | |  | | |  | |
| 2007 |  | | |  | | | |
| 2008 |  | | | |  |  | |
| 2009 | | | | | | | |
| 2010 | | | | | |  | |
| 2011 |  | | | | | | |
| 2012 | | | | | | | |
| 2013 | Not held | | | | |  | |
| 2014 | | .svg.png){kind=small} | | | | ||
| 2015 | | Not US Open Series | | |  | ||
| 2016 | | | | | |||
| 2017 | | |  | | |||
| 2018 | | | | | |||
| 2019 | | | | |  | ||
| 2020 | Cancelled | Cancelled | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Women
| Year | Stanford/San José | San Diego/Carlsbad | Los Angeles/Washington | Cincinnati | Montreal/Toronto | New Haven |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | | | | Not US Open Series | | |
| 2005 | .svg.png){kind=small} | | | | | |
| 2006 | | | | | | |
| 2007 | | | | | | |
| 2008 | | Not held | | |  | |
| 2009 | |  | | | | |
| 2010 | .svg.png){kind=small} | | Not held | | | |
| 2011 | | | | | | |
| 2012 | |  | |  | | |
| 2013 | | | Not US Open Series |  | |  |
| 2014 | | Not held | | | | |
| 2015 | | Not US Open Series | | | | |
| 2016 | | Not held | | | | |
| 2017 | | | | | ||
| 2018 | |  | | | ||
| 2019 | | | | Not held | ||
| 2020 | TBA | TBA | Cancelled |
Series standings + performance at the US Open
Note: From 2006 on, only players who earned points in at least two US Open Series events are eligible for the final (Top 3) standings.
| US Open results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A | did not participate in the tournament | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament |
| QF | advanced to but not past the quarterfinals | SF | advanced to but not past the semifinals |
| F | advanced to the finals, tournament runner-up | W | won the tournament |
- 1 – Hewitt and Davenport finished first in 2004 final standings based on more match wins in US Open Series events.
- 2 – Nadal finished third in 2005 (over Roger Federer) based on more set wins in US Open Series events.
- 3 – Schnyder was placed third in 2007 because Justine Henin (who had more points – 100 for winning Toronto) only played one tournament and was therefore not eligible for the top three positions.
- 4 – Nadal won the 2008 series ahead of Murray because Nadal defeated Murray in Toronto, Canada.
- 5 – Pennetta finished second in the 2009 final standings based on more match wins in US Open Series events.
- 6 – Murray won the 2010 series ahead of Federer because Murray defeated Federer in Toronto.
- 7 – Kuznetsova finished third in 2010 (over Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova) based on more games won in US Open Series events (all three won 9 matches and 19 sets).
- 8 – Radwańska finished second in the 2011 final standings based on more match wins in US Open Series events.
- 9 – Players who had their point totals doubled due to having obtained points in at least three different events, based on a rule enforced from 2014 on.
- 10 – Dimitrov finished second in the 2016 final standings based on more match wins in US Open Series events.
Records
- Players who won both the US Open Series and the US Open in the same year, receiving $1 million bonus prize money
- Men: Roger Federer (2007) & Rafael Nadal (2013).
- Women: Kim Clijsters (2005*) & Serena Williams (2013, 2014).
- * - Clijsters received the Champion's prize money, $1.1M, plus a bonus equaling the prize money, $1.1M, for a total of $2.2M.
- Most points won
- Without doubling bonus for three countable tournaments (until 2013):
- Men: Mardy Fish, 230 points in 2011.
- Women: Kim Clijsters, 225 points in 2005.
- With doubling bonus for three countable tournaments (since 2014):
- Men: Milos Raonic, 280 points in 2014.
- Women: Serena Williams, 430 points in 2014.
- Most US Open Series overall victories
- Men: 2, Andy Roddick (2005, 2006); Rafael Nadal (2008, 2013); Andy Murray (2010, 2015).
- Women: 3, Serena Williams (2011, 2013, 2014).
- Most US Open Series Top-3 finishes
- Men: 5, Andy Murray (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015) & John Isner (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
- Women: 4, Serena Williams (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) & Agnieszka Radwańska (2011, 2013, 2014, 2016).
- Most US Open Series tournament victories
- Men: 9, Roger Federer
- Women: 7, Serena Williams
- Biggest payout in the series (which always becomes the biggest in professional tennis history)
- Serena Williams (2014) – $4 million (won US Open Series and US Open).
- Biggest payout in men's: Novak Djokovic (2015) – $3.8 million (US Open Series runner-up and US Open winner).
- Most successful nation in the US Open Series
- Overall: USA, 36 tournament victories (Men: 23 & Women: 13).
- Men: USA, 23 tournament victories.
- Women: USA, 13 tournament victories.
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Clarke, Liz (April 20, 2004). "USTA Moves to Promote Tennis; U.S. Open Series Aims To Please Players, Fans". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- Rothenberg, Ben. "Why DC's Citi Open separated from U.S. Open Series". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- "DC's Citi Open Bumped Out Of U.S. Open Series Due To TV Deal With Tennis Channel". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- "Citi Open returns to US Open Series for 2019". US Open Series. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- "Bonus Challenge". US Open Series. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- Kreda, Allan (September 10, 2005). "Clijsters Wins U.S. Open; Federer, Agassi Make Final". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- "Clijsters Wins Second Consecutive U.S. Open Title". Long Island Tennis Magazine. September 13, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- "Federer tames Djokovic to clinch US Open crown". ABC News. September 10, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- "Bonus Challenge – Emirates Airline US Open Series". Emirates Airline US Open Series.
- "US Open 2013: Taxman cometh for champions". ZeeNews India. September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- "Serena sweeps aside Wozniacki for third straight US Open". US Open Official Site - A USTA Event.
- @usopen (July 18, 2017). "We will not have #USOpenSeries bonus money this year" (Tweet). Retrieved July 28, 2017 – via Twitter.
- Tandon, Kamakshi (7 February 2017). "Emirates drops US Open Series Sponsorship; adds US Open involvement". tennis.com.
- US Open Series Tournaments
- "US Open Series - Bonus Challenge". US Tennis Association. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- "2005 US Open Series Bonus Points System" (PDF). US Tennis Association. Retrieved August 1, 2017.