It’s the first day of the US Open 2022, but what happened last week? Word over to Alex Mann. We also get a small US Open History Lesson.

This Week in Tennis 35 – US Open 2022

Last week, we saw the ATP and WTA tour players take to the court in Winston-Salem and Cleveland, USA and Granby, Canada.

Daria Kasatkina dispatched the field in Granby to pick up her second WTA title of the year. Kasatkina defeated Daria Saville in the final, winning 6-4 6-4 to put her in good stead leading up to this week’s US Open.

Adrian Mannarino was a shock winner in Winston-Salem as he defeated seeds, Ruusuvuori, Ramos-Vinolas, Cressy, and van de Zandschulp on his way to the final. By defeating Laslo Dere in the final, Mannarino won his first ATP title in three years.

In Cleveland, Ohio, Ludmilla Samsonova defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final to win her second consecutive title. Samsonova didn’t drop a set on her way to the title all week. She seems to be in good form so is one to look out for at the US Open.

It’s time to turn our attention to the final major of the year, the US Open 2022.

US Open gets under way

Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev are the defending champions and will both look to claim the second major title of their careers.

You can read my men’s and women’s US Open preview articles for this year’s contenders on Tennisnerd.

The US Open began in 1881 and Richard Sears was the inaugural men’s singles champion. Sears won seven consecutive titles from 1881 to 1887 and shares the record for the most men’s singles titles won with Bill Tilden and William Larned, who also won seven.

In the Open Era, Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer share the record of having won five men’s singles titles.

The women’s singles event was first held in 1887 with Ellen Hansell claiming the trophy. Molla Mallory holds the record for the most women’s singles titles with eight, with tennis great Helen Wills Moody having won seven.

In the Open Era, Chris Evert and Serena Williams have won a record five women’s singles titles.

Various surfaces since the start

The US Open has been played on a variety of surfaces since the tournament’s inception.

In 2020, Laykold created an updated acrylic surface for the tournament to improve the consistency and playability of the courts. It was first played on grass from 1881 to 1974 and briefly replaced by clay from 1975 to 1977. The acrylic-based DecoTurf surface was used from 1978 to 2019.

If you want to find out more about how tennis courts are made, have a read of my ‘How are tennis courts made‘ article.