The initial US National Men’s Championships, featuring singles and doubles, was held at the Newport Casino (in Newport, Rhode Island) in 1881. The US National Women’s Singles Championship began in 1887, but it was played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The inaugural National Women’s Doubles took place two years later. In 1915, the men moved to the West Side Tennis Club. The women remained in Philadelphia until 1921 when the championships joined the men at Forest Hills, New York.
Locations aside, this was the 144th and 138th editions of the last major of the year.
And it was… New York “Colossal…” to its core.
Finals Catalogue…
Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka duplicated the Australian Open-US Open Men’s and Women’s Singles combination that Mats Wilander of Sweden and Stefanie Graf of Germany realized in 1988.
Graf did it again in 1989. Monica Seles, then playing for Yugoslavia, won both in 1991 and ‘92. Martina Hingis of Switzerland twinned Melbourne and New York in 1997 and Angelique Kerber repeated the dual wins in 2016.
Sinner downed Taylor Fritz, who was the first US finalist since Andy Roddick in 2006, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Sabalenka sidestepped Jessica Pegula of the US, 7-5, 7-5.
Both champions had to overcome more than the opposition they faced on the court…
Sinner’s New York test became more difficult when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on August 21st five days before the tournament began on August 25th that he had tested positive for Clostebol at the BNP Paribas Open in March and again eight days later, out of competition. Basically, he was “Comeyed”, a reference to FBI Directory James Comey announcing 11 days before the 2016 US election that the organization was investigating presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails. Though the ITIA absolved Sinner, (as the FBI did Clinton) he lost $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points… (Clinton, of course, lost the election.) Immediately following the ruling, a “Double Standard” cacophony shrilled. Pressed at almost every press conference with questions about the process, Sinner weathered the onslaught.
A Women’s Singles finalist a year ago to the inspired Coco Gauff, in 2024 Sabalenka has been the most formidable women’s hard-court performer… But getting there hasn’t been easy.
At the beginning of 2022, playing Australian tournaments, she began having problems with her serve. During the season there were matches where she tallied more double faults than winners. By the close of the year, she had amassed 440 double faults – 289 more than the next best “Double Faulter.”
A pummeling ball striker and resolute competitor, whose emotions can impede her success, Sabalenka has contended with challenges in recent times. In this instance, she responded being true to who she is and completely relearned her serve… Gavin MacMillan, a Canadian who played college tennis, is an expert in biomechanics. The South African resident was her “New Serve” architect.
Following the New York victory, Sabalenka thanked her team. She calls the group her “Family”. It includes coach Anton Dubrov; Mindset, Movement, Mentorship leader Jason Stacey (who had a tiger tattoo painted on his bald head for the final); and hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski. Since returning home to Belarus is not possible, she (and the Family) is based in Florida and trains at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton.
Though she may not be an ABBA fan, Sabalenka has become the “Dancing Queen”, showcasing inventive moves, with “The Craziest Team…” in the background, in TikTok videos at Roland Garros and in New York.
After having lost a racking Gentlemen’s Doubles final at the All England Club this year, Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson would not be denied in New York, taking the Men’s Doubles 6-4, 7-6 over Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz. Thompson and Purcell were the first Australian duo to win in New York since Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in 1995 and 1996. Krawietz and Pütz were the first Germans to reach the final since Henner Henkel and Gottfried von Cramm were the US National Men’s Doubles titlists in 1937.
Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Kristina Mladenovic of France and Zhang Shuai of China, 6–4, 6–3, for Women’s Doubles honors. The Ukraine-Latvia pair won their first Slams and did not lose a set in the process. The championship was even more meaningful for Kichenok who was supposed to marry Stas Kumarsky, Ostapenko’s coach on September 4th but postponed the ceremony because they were still competing.
Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani added to Italy’s US Open championship total dismissing Donald Young and Taylor Townsend of the US, 7–6, 7–5 in the Mixed Doubles final.
Vavassori and Errani had saved a match point against US wild cards Robert Galloway and Shelby Rogers in the 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 first round victory.
Errani, the Olympic Tennis Women’s Doubles gold medalist with Jasmine Paolini, hadn’t played Mixed Doubles for eight years until she teamed with Vavassori at The Championships to prepare for Paris. Together with countrywoman Roberta Vinci, Errani has won every Women’s Doubles Grand Slam. But this was hers, and also Vavassori’s, first Grand Slam Mixed Doubles title.
Young and Townsend, who received a wild card into the event, are long-time Atlanta, Georgia friends. She was coached by Young’s father Donald Young Sr. at the South Fulton Tennis Centre, which he and his wife Ilona managed… The relationship was even stronger since his mother Ilona used to play doubles with Shelia Townsend, Taylor’s mother.
Photo: Peter Staples/ USTA
Both Young and Townsend were International Tennis Federation World No. 1 Junior Champions. In the quarterfinals they surprised defending champions Harri Heliovarra of Finland and Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan, 6-7, 6-3, 10-8.
The final was Young’s last tennis match since he is now playing pickleball, but he said, “… I can’t think of a better spot, place to go out in… playing with someone I’ve known our whole life. It’s pretty cool for me.”
Townsend added, “…We both live in Atlanta, so I’m going to see him a ton and follow what he’s doing in the next chapter. But it’s cool to be able to close the book this way. Again, being able to leave here with some (finalists’) hardware… that’s the most special thing. So, I mean, it’s fantastic. I’m glad to be able to do it by his side.”
A Few Of The Surprises…
Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the Men’s Singles first round.
Caroline Dolehide, in a US face-off Women’s Singles first round, defeated Danielle Collins, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Alyson Krueger and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of the US defeated this year’s Roland Garros and Australian Open finalists DesiraeKrawczykof the US and Brit Neal Skupski, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the Mixed Doubles.
Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the 3rd seed, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, in the Men’s Singles second round.
Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriel Ruse defeated Czech Barbora Krejčíková, reigning champion at The Championships, 6-4 7-5, in the second round of the Women’s Singles.
Australian Alexei Popyrin defeated 2nd seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in the Men’s Singles third round.
Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow of the US defeated US-Brit doubles specialists Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, 7-6(7-3) 6-3, in the Men’s Doubles third round.
Emma Navarro, in another all-US confrontation, defeated defending champion Coco Gauff, 6-3 4-6 6-3, in the fourth round of the Women’s Singles.
Jessica Pegula defeated top seed Iga Świątek of Poland, 6-2, 6-4, in the Women’s Singles quarterfinals. Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani defeated Jan Zielinski (Poland), winner of the Australian Open Mixed title, and Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei), 6-3 6-2, winner of the Australian Open and The Championships Mixed titles, in the quarterfinals of the Mixed Doubles.
Facts…
Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka each earned an astonishing $3.6 million for their championships.
Attendance cascaded to 1,048,669, which included 216,000 for Fan Week (running the week prior to the tournament) up from 160,000 a year ago.
(In interviews, US Open devotees expressed their displeasure with the “Rave-like mob…” Crowd expansion took away the treasured opportunity to watch matches on the outside courts without having to find a seat the day before the contest was going to be played. Said one fan, “I get it… It’s a business. They’re squeezing the most out of this thing.”)
The Day 1 attendance of 42,886 established a new record. Add the 31,775 on hand for the evening session (an all-time night session record) and the total attendance set a single day US Open record of 74,661.
Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, August 24th, set an all-time attendance record of 47,875, breaking the previous best of 40,868, set last year.
The US Open is supposed to be a “People’s Tournament”, yet Ground Passes were $137.00.
In 2006, Nick Mautone, a managing partner at Gramercy Tavern in New York City, created the Honey Deuce. The tournament announced that this year 556,782 of its signature cocktails which includes Grey Goose Vodka, a tournament sponsor, were sold for $23 (up from $22 in 2023 but in a souvenir acrylic cup) earning more than $12.8 million.
Overlooked…
A Sabalenka forehand was clocked at 80.15 mph (129 km/h); Carlos Alcaraz of Spain hit one 78.91mph (127 km/h); Sinner’s best was 78.29 mph (126 km/h).
Beneath her left shoulder, Pegula has a vertical tattoo written in Latin that says, “I will either find a way or make one”.
Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian to reach the US Open Women’s Singles quarterfinals since Maria Bueno in 1968.
For six minutes during the fourth round all the line-calling systems stopped working because a fire alarm in the building where they are housed caused an evacuation.
At the US Open, Moyuka Uchijima of Japan made her remarkable 32nd tournament appearance of the year.
Julien Farel has had a 16-year US Open career… And who is Julien Farel? The salon owner whose company provides “Drop by…no appointment needed” haircuts and more for players and coaches.
Ben Shelton, who is 21, had yet to turn one when Andy Roddick was the last American to win the U.S. Open in 2003.
It was reported that Marco Bortolotti of Italy was supposed to play his inaugural US Open doubles event, but his visa was denied because he had played ITF tournaments in Iran in 2015. This contravened US laws.
“Super Fan” Eddie, who was newsworthy a year ago as a Tommy Paul supporter, was back on the scene in 2024. The Brooklyn, New York youngster, who received Paul’s shirt after he came back from two sets down in his second round match against Roman Safiullin had told the match winner “I’m here all night…” This year they reconnected after Paul’s pre-tournament practice session with Holger Rune. And Paul promised to find the 12-year-old a pair of the New Balance tennis shoes he wears but only in size five and a half.
The Curtain Drops…
For some the US Open was their final New York show…
Dominic Thiem, the 2020 Men’s Singles champion, made his final US Open appearance. Granted a wild card, the Austrian began having problems with his wrist in 2021 and finally had surgery the following year. Since then, he hasn’t been the same player. Ben Shelton ended Thiem’s New York stay in the first round, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Talking about the conclusion of his career, Thiem said, “The thing I will miss the most is the feeling after winning a great match. It’s not really comparable to anything else.”
In October, the 31-year-old will play the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria which will be his final tournament.
Having been a quarterfinalist at the US Open in 2017 and ’19, Diego Schwartzman, the 5”7’ Argentine became the shortest men’s competitor since Jaime Yzaga of Peru in 1994 to reach the Last 8. Earlier this year the 32-year-old Schwartzman announced the Argentina Open in 2025 would be his final event. Looking to play his 11th consecutive US Open, he handled three qualifying matches in straight sets before Gaël Monfils of France was able to out-retrieve him winning 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round of the main draw.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet, in his final appearance, was looking to participate for the 20th consecutive year. Unfortunately, in a second round qualifying contest against 19-year-old Vilius Gaubas of Lithuania, the 38-year-old was dismissed 6-3, 6-4. (Gaubas lost to Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4 in the last round of the qualifying.)
In his 2005 US Open debut Gasquet, who has a picturesque one-hand backhand and the quirky width of his hand overwrap on his grip, reached the fourth round. Three years earlier, he won the US Open Boys’ Singles. In Men’s play, he was a semifinalist in 2013 and quarterfinalist in ’15.
Given an opportunity to address the crowd at Stadium 17 following the Gaubas match, he said, “”It’s a little bit sad for me to finish like this but I’m really happy with how I’ve played here in New York… to be here with the crowd, to feel this emotion, these feelings. You play tennis to feel these kinds of feelings.
“It’s electric, it’s incredible for me… I am proud with the way I played in New York. I will keep these memories for my life.”
He added, “I hope to come back and be with you, in the crowd, next year.”
Photo: Elsa/ Getty Images
Donald Young’s retirement was mentioned in the “Finals Catalogue” section, but Taylor Townsend who reached the 2014 US Open Mixed Doubles semifinals with Young, pointed out, “He’s retiring, so he asked me to play (this year)… I was like, you’re the reason I believed I could play any sort of pro tennis, because he’s the closest I was around to it. It would be an honor for me to play with you and share the court for you on your retirement.”
Though she lost to Iga Świątek of Poland 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at the 2024 Australian Open, Danielle Collins became newsworthy in January announcing that this would be her final year on the circuit. She began her intercollegiate career at the University of Florida, transferred to the University of Virginia and won the NCAA Women’s Singles in 2014 and ’16.
Collins played the game one way… Her shot pulverizing approach, supported by “Come On’s” exhortations occasionally resulted in lost count of the winners and unforced error totals. A consummate competitor she played with rheumatoid arthritis and candidly discussed having surgery for endometriosis, which required a tennis ball size cyst to be removed and led to her missing half the 2021 season.
An Australian Open semifinalist in 2019 and a finalist in ’22, which was the same year she made her best US Open showing, reaching the fourth-round. This spring the 30-year-old, who was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, was unseeded but won her home tournament the WTA 1000 Miami Open and followed up with the Charleston title. She put together a 15 match win strike before losing in three-sets at the Mutua Madrid Open in the fourth round to Sabalenka, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
At the US Open, she was surprised by compatriot Caroline Dolehide, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round. The tournament had planned to honor her following her last match, but Collins quickly left following the defeat telling the Associated Press, “I just would prefer to do something like that (a salute) maybe in private. But I feel like I’ve gotten enough attention to last a lifetime.
“I was kind of thinking of that movie, I think it was ‘Meet the Parents’ or ‘Meet the Fockers’, where Gaylord has a shrine and all his 18th-place medals. I don’t want to be like Gaylord, so I think I’m good.”
In August, Shelby Rogers revealed that the US Open would be her final tournament. As luck would have it, her first round opponent was Pegula, whom she first played in Girls’ 16 events.
At the 2018 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Rogers ruptured her left knee cartilage playing Dolehide and had surgery in May. She rigorously rehabbed and returned to competition at her home tournament the Charleston Open in April 2019. Her “I’m back…” success resulted in her best New York showing, the quarterfinals at the 2020 US Open.
Troubled by knee issues since, she tore a meniscus in 2023 and had surgery, and again this past January. The likeable, admittedly emotional, Charleston, South Carolina native, was defeated by a regretful Pegula, who was playing a good friend, 6-4, 6-3.
In an online post before the Open, the 31-year-old, Rogers acknowledged, “…These last couple of years fighting with injuries and surgeries have been challenging. I always said that if my heart loves it and my body is healthy, I would play this sport forever! But now my body is telling me it’s time.”
After a salute on Arthur Ashe Stadium following her match, saying she was surprised by her emotional control, Rogers admitted, “I think that was the Lord’s doing honestly, because every other moment in my career I’ve just been a ball of tears and I can’t explain that moment any other way… And I definitely didn’t have on my bingo card that Jessie would be crying more than me but it was really sweet.
“And I was like, well, I feel like I also want to share a moment with them and have a really public moment for all of the people that for decades have been a part of my career, fans included. So, I was like, ‘Okay, the US Open seems appropriate.’ And honestly, I’m really happy I did it. I couldn’t have written it a better way if I wanted to.”
Over the years, Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman, Richard Gasquet, Donald Young, Danielle Collins and Shelby Rogers added to the magic that made the US Open “Broadway Special”.
The End End…
By the time players reach the US Open many are running on fumes… the tank is nearly empty. This year was worse thanks to the Paris Olympics. Representing one’s country is an athletic milestone but having had to move from the lawns at The Championships to the Terra Battue in Paris to the hard courts in New York was, for several competitors, mentally and physically overwhelming.
Following the Women’s Singles final, Jessica Pegula put the toll in perspective saying, “Everything is kind of falling apart. A lot of girls are like that. The doctors and the physios are very busy here.”
Though neither Jannik Sinner nor Aryna Sabalenka were in Paris, they medaled in New York… And the 2024 US Open did the same.
Title photo by Sports Business Journal