Wimbledon Championships in London

The oldest Grand Slam tournament began as an amateur event called the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. Thefirst championship was in 1877 and it was accepted as Britain's National Championship. As the tournament grew through the years a new location and a new 14,000 seat stadium was built in 1922. It was during the 1920's that Wimbledon had great growth and became the most important tennis championship in the world.

In 1940, the Germans bombed Center Court that did substantial damage. The tournament was suspended until 1946. In 1949 Wimbledon had a major renovation to its stadium and had new courts added. Today All England Lawn Tennis Club has players competing at Wimbledon from over 60 nations with annual attendance of over 500,000.

U.S. Open in New York

The US Open has come a long way since its inception 121 years ago. Today it is the world's richest tennis tournament, both in terms of prize money and attendance. The first tournament was sponsored by the US Lawn Tennis Association in 1881 and was called the US National Singles Championship. It was held in Newport Casino, Rhode Island - today Newport is best known as the Tennis Hall of Fame.

The tournament was moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York in 1915. In 1923 a new 14,000 horseshoe shaped stadium was built to accommodate larger crowds. The growth of the Championships accelerated after 1968 with the advent of "open" tennis where professionals could compete. The Championships moved to Flushing Meadows and Louis Armstrong Stadium in 1978. The new Arthur Ashe Stadium was built in 1997 with a seating capacity of 23,000.

Today the USTA National Tennis Center is recognized as the largest and best public tennis center in the world featuring 33 outdoor and 9 indoor courts.

Today the US Open is revered for its history and the legends that are born every year on Center Court.

Michael Dunn (3rd fr. rt.) w/ The All Army Tennis Team including Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell

The French Open at Roland Garros in Paris

The first French Championships were held in 1891. The first competition was a one day national championship. The competition did not become international until 1925. Tennis blossomed in Paris in the 1920's because of many great French players. Coupled with the need to host the Davis Cup after winning the Cup in 1927, the popularity of tennis in Paris precipitated the construction of a brand new tennis stadium at Porte D'Auteuil. The 16,000 seat stadium was named after Roland Garros, the first Frenchman to cross the Mediterranean by air and a World War I hero.

The French Open has always been played on red clay. The surface is a perfect compliment to the hard courts and grass courts of the other Grand Slams. Most recently, Roland Garros has been going under major renovations to keep up with the other top tournaments around the world.

Australian Open and Rod Laver Arena

Australian Open at Melbourne Park

The first Australian Tennis Championship was held in 1905. The tournament was organized by the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, which has since been renamed Tennis Australia. For the first half century the Championships toured Australia.

There was tremendous growth and popularity of tennis in Australia in the 1950's and 1960's. With the likes of Margaret Court Smith, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver the tournament needed a permanent home to accommodate larger crowds. The tournament was permanently moved to the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in1972.
Outgrowing Kooyong the tournament moved to Flinders Park in 1988. Finally, with more growth, the venue was moved and expanded in 1996 and renamed Melbourne Park. The new facility is state of the art with its new 16,000 seat Rod Laver Arena.