The Tennis Majors – A Comprehensive Explanation
The four most important events in tennis are the Majors which make up a career Grand Slam. These tournaments include the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open respectively. The Australian Open and the US Open are played on hard courts,
the French Open is played on clay while Wimbledon is played on grass.
The Grand Slams also mark the beginning of a new era in tennis; the Open Era, where professional players were allowed to compete in the Majors. Wimbledon is the first of these tournaments to be played, starting in 1877. This tournament was followed by the
US Open in 1881, the French Open in 1891 and the Australian Open in 1905. In a calendar year, these are played in reverse order - the Australian Open begins in January, the French Open from May to June, Wimbledon from June to July and finally, the US Open
from August to September.
Wimbledon, considered to be the most prestigious tournament in tennis, is held annually at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, United Kingdom. The French Open is held at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France, the Australian Open is held at Melbourne
Park in Australia. In the end, the US Open is held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, USA.
In recent years, video referrals aided with the hawk eye technology have been added to the Majors, giving players the ability to question the calls made by the umpires. The US Open was the first tournament to sanction this in 2006. The US Open also differs
from the other three Majors because it features a tie-breaker in the 5th set of the Men’s Singles matches, while other tournaments simply play this set out. This tournament is also the first one to feature night matches, an idea which the Australian
Open has taken up for its next edition in 2011 as well. However, the US Open is still the Grand Slam which features the highest number of night matches played under lights.
A singles player, or a doubles team, which succeeds in winning all four titles in the same year is said to have completed a Grand Slam. The Majors feature certain orders in which tournaments must be won in order to achieve titles like the Grand Slam, Career
Grand Slam, Golden Slam and Career Golden Slam titles.
According to a revision by the International Tennis Federation, it is considered to be a Grand Slam even if the titles were won over a period of two consecutive years. Martina Navratilova was the first player to succeed at this and took home one million
dollars as cash prize. However, no other sources consider this as a proper Grand Slam, and the ITF also seems to have reverted to the previous definition of a Grand Slam (the four majors won during a calendar year). This is known as the Career Grand Slam.
A Golden Slam essentially encompasses a non-calendar year Grand Slam accompanied by a gold medal at the Olympics. Only two male players have achieved this feat till date - Andre Agassi from America and Rafael Nadal from Spain.
The most prestigious title in the Majors, however, is the Golden Slam. A player who has achieved a calendar year Grand Slam and an Olympics Gold medal is known to have achieved the Golden Slam. Till date, the only player to wear this laurel is Steffi Graf.
This phrase was coined especially after Graf’s victory in 1988.
Another lesser known victory at the Majors is the Career “Boxed Set”. It stands for winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles trophies at all four tournaments. This Boxed Set has remained exclusive for women, since male singles’ champions are rarely
remarkable at doubles tennis.
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