West Side Tennis Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The West Side Tennis Club is a private tennis club located in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in New York City, USA. The venue is most notable for hosting the United States Open Tennis Championships from 1915 until 1977. It has also hosted the finals of the Davis Cup 10 times, more than any other venue. The club currently holds the Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic, a WTA Tour Tier IV event, and a men's challenger event.
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[edit] Early history
The club began in 1892 when 13 original members rented land on Central Park West for three clay courts and a small clubhouse. Ten years later, the land had become too valuable, and the club moved to a site near Columbia University, where they were able to build eight courts. In 1908, the club moved again, to a site at 238th street and Broadway. The new site covered two blocks and had 12 grass courts and 15 clay courts.
The club hosted the International Lawn Tennis Challenge (now Davis Cup) in 1911. With crowds in the thousands, the club realized that they would need to expand to a more permanent location. In 1912, a site in Forest Hills, Queens, was purchased. The signature Tudor-style clubhouse was built the next year.
[edit] The US Open years
In 1915, the United States Lawn Tennis Association National Championship, later named the U.S. Open, moved to West Side. By 1923, the success of the event necessitated the construction of a 14,000-seat, horseshoe-shaped stadium, that still stands today. The stadium's first event was the final of the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, which saw the Americans defeat Australia.
During its years at West Side, the US Open was often referred to simply as "Forest Hills", in the manner that The Championships, Wimbledon is referred to only as "Wimbledon". The Open saw some of it's biggest moments and changes while at West Side, including the introduction of seedings (in 1927), equal prize money for men and women (1973), night play (1975), and the tiebreaker (1970). Althea Gibson became the first black player to play in a Grand Slam in 1950, and Billie Jean King won the first Grand Slam with a metal racquet in 1967.
In 1975, the tournament was switched to Har-Tru clay courts. By 1978, the tournament had outgrown West Side, and the USTA moved the tournament to a new site in Flushing Meadows. After the Open left, the club held various professional tournaments, and still holds a women's tour event today.
[edit] Other uses
In addition to tennis, the West Side stadium has also been a venue for many concerts, including stars like Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Diana Ross.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth
