The US Open, held in Queens, New York, brings thousands of tennis fans together from all over the globe. Over 700,000 spectators get to watch the best of the best clash on the courts. The US Open is one of four major Tennis Championships held around the world (the other three: the Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the French Open). At times, up to 15 matches will be played at the exact same time. However, in the summer of 2020, no fans attended matches. The 2021 US Open, which went from August 30th to September 12th, was a special one for all. The spectators were thrilled to be back in the stadium cheering players on, and players were happy to have a full crowd of fans. This year, fans using the U.S. Open AR App even got to see player performance in real time thanks to augmented reality.
When it came time for the finals, the stadium was sold out and those at home huddled around their TV. In the finals, five different events are played: men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. The singles winners get $2.5 million while the doubles winners split a check for $660,000. The women's singles winner this year was Emma Raducanu from the UK. At just 18 years old, she beat Mayar Sherif (4th seed) and Belinda Bencic (11th seed) in her run. In the Grand Slam title, she faced off against Leylah Fernandez. Fernandez was also a young player who was only 19 years old, making this a very heated and unpredictable match.
The men's singles title match was unpredictable as well. The top two seeded players played against each other. Novak Djokovic, seeded no.1, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles and Daniil Medvedev, seeded no. 2, who came in as an underdog never having won a Grand Slam. Djokovic was not only the clear favorite but had won the three previous Grand Slams in a row and was on track to win a Golden Grand Slam until he lost in the Olympics. A Golden Grand Slam is when a player wins all four tennis majors and the Olympics in one calendar year. No player has yet to have achieved the Golden Grand Slam in Men’s Singles. Medvedev proceeded to provide a massive upset by taking Djokovic down. As a result, both singles champions at the US Open are first-time Grand Slam winners. The next U.S. open begins on August 29th, 2022.
As a result, both singles champions at the US Open are first-time Grand Slam winners.