thumb|upright=1.3|right|Bronze Statue by [[Marshall Fredericks at the USTA National Tennis Center. (2019)]]

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year from late August to early September, since 1978 and is operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The facility has 22 courts inside its When the facility was built in 1978, all 33 courts used the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface, as did Court 17, added in 2011. However, in 2020, the court surfaces were replaced with Laykold.

Near Citi Field (home of the New York Mets) as well as LaGuardia Airport, the tennis center is open to the public for play except during the US Open, junior, and wood-racquet competitions. Formerly called the USTA National Tennis Center, the facility was rededicated for Billie Jean King on August 28, 2006.

After rumors of a possible move to San Diego, a major upgrade and expansion began in March 1995. During David Dinkins's mayoralty, the city negotiated a 99-year lease of city park space to the United States Tennis Association to create the USTA National Tennis Center. In August 1997 the newly built Arthur Ashe Stadium replaced Louis Armstrong Stadium as the main court. The four-year expansion was completed in 1999. Arthur Ashe Stadium holds more than 22,000 spectators while Louis Armstrong Stadium was downsized to hold just 10,000 spectators (the original size was 18,000). Because the playing surface of Court 17 is below ground level, the new court has received the nickname of "The Pit".

Beginning in 2013, the center underwent a $550 million renovation that included the erection of a retractable roof on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was completed for the 2016 US Open. A new show court with 8,125 seats was opened in 2016 in the southwest corner of the complex, making it the third-largest court in the center (replacing the old Grandstand court). A new, 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium (also with a retractable roof) was constructed on the site of the original stadium, and was completed in time for the 2018 US Open.

Main courts

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Stadium !! Capacity

|-

| Arthur Ashe Stadium || 23,771

|-

| Louis Armstrong Stadium || 14,000

|-

| Grandstand || 8,125

|-

|Court 17 "The Pit"

|2,800

|}

Other uses

In July 2008, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and Arthur Ashe Stadium hosted its first non-tennis event, when the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) played in the "Liberty Outdoor Classic: 2008". The game itself was the first professional basketball regular season game played outdoors in the USA, by either men or women. The contest featured the Indiana Fever defeating the New York Liberty.

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is the site of the annual New York State High School tennis championships, held in May. This tournament is sponsored by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA).

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city proposed building a temporary 350-bed field hospital in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to treat overflow patients from area hospitals. It opened on April 10 and was later described by The New York Times as a "cautionary tale" of mismanaged government responses, having cost at least $52 million while only treating 79 patients until it closed on May 13.

See also

  • Sports in New York City § Tennis

References

US Open tennis TV Channel List

  • USTA official website
  • US Open official website
  • Billie Jean King National Tennis Center official webpage. USTA official website
  • NEWS: Ashe & Armstrong Stadiums . May 25, 2008. USTA official website
  • New York City Sports Commission webpage. NYC: The Official Guide website