USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (New York City, NY, USA)

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a tennis complex that hosts the US Open, the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments to be held in the professional tennis calendar each year over two weeks in late August and early September.

The venue opened in August 1978, developed on the site of the Singer Bowl stadium which had been built for the 1964 World’s Fair, to host the US Open and saw the stadium divided into two venues – Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand.

Originally known as the USTA National Tennis Center, the complex was renamed in 2006 in honour of Billie Jean King, a four-time US Open singles champion and women’s tennis pioneer

The complex features 22 outdoor courts, consisting of four ‘show courts’, 13 field courts and 5 practice courts (with a 12 practice courts just outside the East Gate). The four ‘show courts’ are:

• Arthur Ashe Stadium – with a capacity of 23,771 it is the largest tennis stadium in the world. Opened in August 1997, it replaced the Louis Armstrong Stadium (see below) as the main court of the US Open. Named after Arthur Ashe, winner of the inaugural 1968 US Open, a retractable roof was added in 2016 following successive years of event delays from inclement weather which saw the men’s singles final moved to a Monday for five straight years from 2008 to 2012.
• Louis Armstrong Stadium – opened in 2018 with a capacity of 14,000 and a retractable roof on the site of the original stadium, which was demolished following the 2016 tournament. The old stadium, named after the noted jazz musician, was part of the original Singer Bowl stadium and opened in 1978 with a capacity of 18,000 before being reduced to 10,200 in 1997.
• Grandstand – the old Grandstand court, also opened in 1978 as part of the original Singer Bowl stadium was replaced in 2016 by the new 8,125-seat Grandstand in the southwest corner of the grounds.
• Court 17 – opened in 2011 with temporary seating, Court 17 received its permanent seating capacity of 2,800 the following year. Known as “The Pit” as it sits 8 feet below ground level.

Opened: 1978

Capacity: 23,771 (Arthur Ashe Stadium), 14,000 (Louis Armstrong Stadium), 8,125 (Grandstand) & 2,800 (Court 17)

Address: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadow – Corona Park, Flushing, NY 11368