As always, the 2022 US Open was an exciting, action-packed event full of fierce competition It was a record-breaking tournament full of firsts and exciting moments, including a new Men’s world No. 1!
Getting to the third round of the US Open, Serena Williams announced her farewell from tennis, saying that she is ‘evolving away’ from the sport. Having won 23 Grand Slams and four Olympic Gold medals during her 27-year career, Serena Williams has left her mark on the sport, and will always be known as a tennis great. It seems only right that Williams’ final tournament was the US open - it was her first Grand Slam title in 1999. What an adventure!
A Whirlwind for the Women
World No.1 Iga Swiatek was crowned champion at the final major of 2022, after an amazing year of tennis. She is the first woman to win two major titles in a single year since 2016, winning both the French and US opens this year. Swiatek has also won six consecutive titles on the WTA tour and was the youngest women ever to complete the Sunshine Double, by winning both the Indian Wells and Miami Masters in the same year.
It doesn’t stop there! Swiatek went on a 37-match win streak, not losing a game for 135 days. The 21-year-old is playing very well and is definitely going to be fighting to keep her place at No.1.
Ons Jabeur was the runner up this year and played strongly throughout the competition. She was also breaking records as she became the first African-Arab woman to reach a US Open final. This comes shortly after becoming the first African-Arab woman to reach a Wimbledon final in July.
There’s a New No.1 on the Block!
The men’s tournament was extremely exciting this year, with some amazing matches and a fierce battle for not only the US Open title, but also for the spot of World No. 1. After the first few rounds, it was clear that, by the end of the tournament, there was going to be a new King of the ATP world. The fight was between Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal got knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 whilst Casper Rudd and Carlos Alcaraz both made it to the final to battle it out. It was up to Alcaraz to win it for the Spaniards after Nadal’s exit.
And he did just that: Carlos Alcaraz went on to win the competition and become the youngest ever men’s World No. 1 at the age of 19 years old. That wasn’t the only record he broke – Alcaraz played his part the second longest match in US Open history. He played 21-year-old Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, in a match that lasted 5 hours and 15 mins.
Also in the men’s competition, Frances Tiafoe became the first American to reach the US Open semi-finals in 16 years. He knocked out Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, and went on to beat Andrey Rublev, before being knocked out by the champion Alcaraz.
There was another first at the 2022 US Open - the use of Hawk Eye Live. Hawk Eye Live replaced line judges at the competition this year. The automated system would call out in a recorded voice, ‘fault’ if a serve was out and ‘out’ in a rally. The trial of this new system seemed to be a success. Sean Cary, who overseas officiating for the US Open, said that the Hawk Eye Live system has a much higher accuracy in its calls and provides players with a fairer playing field. Is this the future of tennis?...
