Many tennis fans today associate the US Open exclusively with fast hard courts and the signature blue color. However, the United States Open Tennis Championships holds a unique record—it is the only Grand Slam in history where champions have been crowned on three completely different surfaces.
The development of the tournament was followed by surface changes, and the story of how we arrived at today’s “blue hard court” is closely tied to the locations where the tournament was held, as well as the needs of modern television broadcasting.
The Grass Era (1881 – 1974): Wimbledon-style Beginnings
In its early days, the US Open (then known as the US National Championships) was played exclusively on grass. The tournament started in Newport and later moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. During this long period, the game was based on fast serves and coming to the net, just like at Wimbledon.
The Green Clay Era (1975 – 1977): A Short but Historic Experiment
In the mid-1970s, organizers decided to slow down the game and make it more attractive to spectators with longer rallies. As a result, in 1975, they switched to green clay (known as Har-Tru).
- Green clay was slightly faster than the traditional red clay used at Roland Garros.
- This era lasted only three years, but it remains etched in tennis history.
- Thanks to this change, the legendary Jimmy Connors became and remains the only male tennis player to win the US Open on three different surfaces (grass, clay, and hard court).
The Switch to Hard Courts (1978): The Birth of the Modern US Open
When the tournament moved to a new, much larger complex in Flushing Meadows in 1978, organizers decided on a change that lasts to this day—the switch to hard courts. Initially, the DecoTurf surface was used for decades, until 2020 when the complex switched to more advanced Laykold courts, which offer medium-to-fast play and a higher, predictable ball bounce.
Why Did the US Open Surface Become Blue?
Until 2005, the hard courts at the US Open were traditionally green. Then, a revolutionary decision was made to make the inner part of the court (inside the lines) blue—a shade that is now the trademark of the tournament and is known as US Open Blue—while the outer part remained green. The reason was purely practical:
- The blue color provides the absolute best possible contrast against the optic yellow tennis ball.
- This innovation drastically made it easier for television viewers around the world to track the fast-paced game, but it also helped the players themselves see the ball better on the court.
- This move was so successful that it was later adopted by the Australian Open as well.
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