[Olórin]

Quick question, I have that it was played on hard court from 60-66 and then grass from then onwards, is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[PamShriver]

Quick question, I have that it was played on hard court from 60-66 and then grass from then onwards, is that correct?

Thanks!

I do not think that it was ever played on a hard court until 1988 when the surface changed to Rebound Ace.

 

[Olórin]

Oh rite thanks, I don't disbelieve you, it's just that it says on the WTA site in Margaret Court's activity that it was played on hard from 60-66 when she won then grass henceforth. I thought that was a bit strange, I assume it's an error then and it was played on grass until 88?

 

[samn]

Oh rite thanks, I don't disbelieve you, it's just that it says on the WTA site in Margaret Court's activity that it was played on hard from 60-66 when she won then grass henceforth. I thought that was a bit strange, I assume it's an error then and it was played on grass until 88?

PamShriver is right; the event was played on grass until 1987. It moved to the new National Tennis Center (in what used to be called Flinders Park and is now called Melbourne Park) in Melbourne in 1988 when it was played on Rebound Ace for the first time.

PS: I wouldn't believe half the stuff that's on the WTA Tour site. That site is a disgrace to the sport in terms of how inadequate and ill-informed it seems to be.

 

[Olórin]

Thanks

What about the US Open then, am I right in thinking that was played on grass in the 60's and then changed to clay for part of the 70's before chaging to hard in the early 80's?

 

[jeanmi18]

Thanks

What about the US Open then, am I right in thinking that was played on grass in the 60's and then changed to clay for part of the 70's before chaging to hard in the early 80's?

The Us Open was played on grass until 1974 at Forest-Hills, then on clay for three consecutive years (75-77) also at Forest-Hills and then moved to Flushing Meadow and hard courts in 78

 

[samn]

Thanks

What about the US Open then, am I right in thinking that was played on grass in the 60's and then changed to clay for part of the 70's before chaging to hard in the early 80's?

The US National Championships (as the event used to be called before the advent of Open Tennis in 1968) were held on grass until 1974 at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, NY. (IIRC the event was played for a few years at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island and, for a long time, the doubles events were held at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia, PA. All of these were on grass, btw).

In 1975, the USTA changed the surface of the West Side Tennis Club to Har-Tru (green clay) and the US Open was played on that surface until 1977. In 1978 the new National Tennis Center was opened in Flushing Meadow, NY, and the US Open then moved to its present location, where the court surface was/is Decoturf II (basically cement/asphalt).

Useless trivia item: The only player who has won the US Open on all three surfaces is Jimmy Connors. He won it on grass in 1974, on Har-Tru in 1976, and on Decoturf in 1978, 1982, and 1983. The only woman who won the US Open on at least two different surfaces is Chris Evert. Evert swept the US title in all three years that it was played on green clay and then added another three titles on cement in 1978, 1980, and 1982.

 

[Olórin]

Thanks for the detailed info

Shame Chris didn't win it in 74 as well then she would've won it on all three surfaces too!

 

[chris whiteside]

I often have a blank spot in remembering this but the Australian Championships were alternated (sometimes not in the same order) between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney until moving permanently to Melbourne in 1972. As far as I'm aware it would have been grass in all of those cities.

 

[tennisvideos]

I often have a blank spot in remembering this but the Australian Championships were alternated (sometimes not in the same order) between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney until moving permanently to Melbourne in 1972. As far as I'm aware it would have been grass in all of those cities.

Yes it was grass at all of those venues.

 

[hingis-seles]

PS: I wouldn't believe half the stuff that's on the WTA Tour site. That site is a disgrace to the sport in terms of how inadequate and ill-informed it seems to be.

It really is a disgrace. I have a bit of a predicament, samn. The ITF head-to-head and the WTA head-to-head records tend to differ for players who played the Grand Slam Cup. The ITF does not include this in players' head-to-head records, but the WTA does. I found this very odd, considering the Grand Slam Cup was an ITF exhibition event and the WTA opposed it since it had Tour events the same week (Novotna in 1998 being the defending Leipzig champion and a GS Cup qualifier, for example). What's the final jury on that?