Tennis returns to New York for the final Grand Slam tournament of the year at Flushing Meadows this week. Known as the city that never sleeps, New York poses its unique challenge for players contending to end the year with a flourish.
The US Open embodies a similar energy and heightened intensity, which players must navigate if they are to succeed. Its main court, the Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis arena in the world. With a seating capacity of 23,700 – by far the largest in Grand Slam® tennis – the centrepiece arena is a veritable lion’s den during big matches with its ultra-charged atmosphere.
Headline matches are played in the evening in the sizzling ambience of a New York summer. This is what sets the US Open apart and players must feed on the exuberant energy in the stands and overcome their tumultuous surrounds.
Rolex became Official Timekeeper of the US Open in 2018, recognizing the human endeavour and passion for tennis that the tournament has showcased over the decades.
Among those to have thrived in its heady environment are several Rolex legends of the game. Chris Evert lifted the women’s singles trophy on six occasions, holding the title for four years from 1975–1978 and Roger Federer remains the only male player in the Open Era to have triumphed five consecutive times between 2004 and 2008. Swedish legend Stefan Edberg also secured rare back-to-back US Open titles overcoming challenging conditions in 1992, including winning an epic five-hour, 26-minute semi- final – still the longest match in US Open history.
The six-time Grand Slam® champion and a Rolex Testimonee, Edberg shares, “Winning the US Open was truly special on both occasions. The 1992 tournament was the most demanding fortnight of my life. Flushing Meadows is one of the best places in the world to watch tennis at night – it can be incredibly loud and noisy; there is a buzzing atmosphere, so it really tests your focus as a player.”
Highlighting its arduous nature, Federer adds, “I felt like if you could win in New York, you could win anywhere because of its unique conditions – the humidity, the wind, the hustle and bustle, and the intensity that it created.”
First held in 1881, the US Open is the final Grand Slam® tournament of the season, and the only one to have been played every year since its inception. In 2023, Coco Gauff rose to the challenge and joined fellow Rolex family members Pat Rafter, Dominic Thiem, Sloane Stephens and Carlos Alcaraz in becoming a first-time Grand Slam® champion at the US Open.
Gauff will return to Flushing Meadows this summer aiming to defend her title and join the esteemed players to have achieved successive victories.
Coco opines, “Winning the US Open was a crazy feeling – one that I had never felt before and I don’t think I will ever feel again. I had dreamt of winning a Grand Slam and the moment was even better than I could have ever imagined. I have been with Rolex since I was 15, and for them to have believed in me from such a young age was incredible. To still be with them five years later is even more amazing – it really feels like I’m part of a family.”
