Tennis is a very popular game sport that is gaining more and more hearts of fans around the globe. Almost every one of us heard the phrase "big helmet", while associations with tennis necessarily arose in our heads.
What is a Grand Slam Tournament ?
Grand Slam competitions are the most important world tennis event and consist of four competitions:
- US Open - the open championship of the United States of America.
- Roland Garros - open French championship.
- Australian Open - Australian Open.
- Wimbledon - British Open Championship.
The 2014 Grand Slam tournament, like the tournaments of recent years, is held in the following calendar order:
- Melbourne, Australia - January, hard court floor.
- Paris, France - May-June, unpaved.
- Wimbledon (a suburb of London), UK - June-July, grass.
- New York, United States - August-September, hard cover.
In the event that the athlete manages to win all four tennis tournaments, he becomes the owner of the Grand Slam.
Features of these tournaments
It is known that the name of the most famous tennis tournament was due to the bridge, a card game in which this term is understood as “complete success”. Its main feature is the symbolism of the prize for victory, which has no material component.
Tennis tournaments of this series in singles and doubles among men are played until victory in three sets. In the first four sets, with a score of 6: 6, a tie-break is played, in which you need to win 7 goals in order to achieve a difference of two goals with your opponent. In the fifth set, an advantage over the opponent in two games is necessary. The exception is the US Open, in which in the fifth set, with the equality of indicators, they also play a tie-break.
Winning the Grand Slam Tournament is considered the most enticing goal for every professional tennis player. This can only be achieved by collecting four titles of the winner in the same hands at the end of one season. The athlete who succeeds becomes the owner of this prestigious title of the corresponding year. The main difficulty in achieving this goal is that each championship uses coatings of different materials. This is how the true skill of a tennis player is tested.
History of origin and development
The oldest tournament in the series is Wimbledon, which was first held in the men's singles in 1877. And already in 1881, the US Open was held in Newport. In France, for the first time, competitions of international level were held in 1891, but the status of the championship was assigned to them already in 1925. The youngest is considered the Australian Open, which takes its roots in 1905. All these tournaments began as amateur ones, and the first Grand Slam Tournament, which was attended by professional players, was the 1968 French Championship.
1. Australian Open
The largest Australian tennis tournament is the Australian Open, which is called the Australian Open. The calendar of the first tournament of the series is held in Melbourne in a specially designed and built for tennis competitions park. On twenty hectares of Melbourne Park there are 24 game courts with hard cover. Matches on them annually attend more than 500 thousand spectators.
An athlete who wins the men's singles tournament is awarded a cup named after the famous Australian tennis player of the early twentieth century, Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. In the women's tournament, the main award is the Daphne Aggurst Cup - multiple winner of the Australian Open (Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup).
In addition, competitions are held in the men's and women's doubles, as well as youth and veteran tournaments.
2. Rolland Garos
The tennis tournament held in France is called the “Rolland Garos” (French Open). These competitions are held on clay courts, which seat up to 15 thousand spectators (the main courts are Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen). The total number of courts involved in the tournament is eighteen, but the main matches are held in three.
At the French Championship among professional tennis players, awards are played in singles and doubles in men's and women's categories, as well as among young men and veterans.
3. Wimbledon Championships
The most famous, as well as rich in tradition is the British tennis tournament Wimbledon Championships, which got its name thanks to the London suburbs.
A feature of this tournament is the grass surface of the courts, which is a serious indicator of the professionalism of the players, and also requires painstaking care, haircuts and watering. The total number of courts is nineteen, the main matches are held on three courts - central, first and second.
The Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament is characterized by conservatism, which is expressed in respect for traditions and special competitive etiquette, which have remained almost unchanged since the first British championships. The women are approached by "Mrs." and "Miss" and the winner is presented with a silver tray. The appeal to men is strictly by last name, and the winner is awarded a goblet of gilded silver. Participants are also treated to local strawberries with cream.
The tournament regulations provide for single women and men, doubles for women, men and mixed competitions, as well as competitions for young men and veterans.
4. US Open
The final Grand Slam tennis tournament is held in New York at the USTA National Tennis Center. The number of courts serving the competition is eighteen. They are all hard coated. The stands of the main court, named after the winner of the US Open Championship Arthur Ashe (Arthur Ashe Stadium), accommodate more than 22 thousand spectators.
According to the rules of the tournament, as in the British championship, there are single women's and men's, women's doubles, men's and mixed competitions, as well as competitions of young men and veterans.
Who owned the Grand Slam?
Throughout the history of the Grand Slam Tournament, not many athletes managed to conquer. Their bitwise list is as follows:
There is also the concept of a career Grand Slam, which means victory in all four tournaments, but in different years.
Golden Grand Slam - the pinnacle of a career
An even more significant achievement is the Golden Grand Slam, which is an intangible prize for the athlete who won all the Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic Games. To date, the list of Golden Grand Slam owners is as follows:
Tournament records
The greatest number of victories in Grand Slam competitions is held by the Swiss Roger Federer. The total number of tournaments won is seventeen, including seven wins at the Wimbledon Championships, five wins at the US Open, four at the Australian Open and one at Rolland Garos.
Also, more than ten victories have such tennis players:
- Pete Sampras - 14 Triumphs.
- Rafael Nadal - 12 wins.
- Roy Emerson - 12 wins.
- Bjorn Borg - 11 wins.
- Rodney Laver - 11 wins.
The women's top record holder is Margaret Smith Court. She won 24 times in Grand Slam tournaments (11 times in Australia, 5 times in France and the USA, 3 times in the UK). Stefi Graf, who has 22 victories, is not much behind her, of which 4 are in Australia, 6 in France, 7 on the courts of Great Britain and 5 in the USA.
The Grand Slam tournament is one of the most popular competitions of our time, the contemplation of which gives indescribable pleasure.