Open era: 50 years on

– The US Open begins next week celebrating 50 years of Open Era tennis with a decidedly new feel at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

The biggest change in the infrastructure of the sprawling complex in the New York borough of Queens will be the unveiling of the new 14 000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Designed to give a more “intimate” feel than the cavernous Arthur Ashe stadium, the new Armstrong with its retractable fabric roof “gives the US Open a second stage that is second to none”, USTA President Katrina Adams said this spring as construction neared completion.

“(It allows) us to present a reliable and predictable schedule that will be unaltered by weather. Now, with two stadiums with roofs, you know that if you’ve got a ticket to the US Open, you’re going to see tennis regardless of the weather conditions.”

The Armstrong design, with terra cotta louvers that aid air circulation, features 6 400 reserved lower-bowl seats and more than 7 000 seats in the upper bowl that are open to anyone holding a grounds pass – a link to the days when grounds pass holders flocked into the old Armstrong before it was demolished after the 2016 tournament.

On all courts, however, it’s the ‘shot clocks’ that will be in use for the first time in a Grand Slam main draw that will undoubtedly be most visible.

The clocks, designed to prevent time-wasting and maintain a regular pace of play, have received mixed reviews from players in North American hardcourt tournaments leading up to the Open, and the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a Grand Slam could intensify feeling on the subject.

US Open tournament director David Brewer told the New York Post that the clocks are a bid to be “transparent with the players and the live and broadcast audience between points”.

The 2018 US Open will be the first Grand Slam to utilise electronic line calling on all match courts.