The US Open qualifiers have begun and the main draw gets underway on August 29. The Flushing Meadows will host some of the best tennis players who will look to win and cement their legacy at the last major event of the year.
The US Open is held each year over a two-week period in late August and early September. Since 1978, they have played all US Open championships on the acrylic hard courts of the US Tennis Association (USTA) National Tennis Center which was named the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006. It is in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York.
The park was once an open meadow in what is today the Corona and Flushing neighborhoods of Queens. In 1907, the area’s bucolic nature was changed drastically when contractor Michael Degnon purchased it. He changed it into a manufacturing hub, port, and industrial dumping ground.
This did not sit well with the residents. Previously, the area was known for its scenic natural beauty and serene location which was a good outing for people who wanted to take a breather from the busy streets of Manhattan.
In 1920, plans were put into place to make it into a public park like Central Park in Manhattan. In 1935, the park got the name Flushing Meadow Park and officially opened in 1939 when it hosted the 1939-1940 World’s Fair.
The park is named after the nearby neighborhoods of Flushing and Corona, which are separated by the park.
The name “Flushing” is a corruption of the port town of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. By the 19th century, the word “flushing” had become associated with “a cleansing by rushing water”.
The New York City Council renamed it to Flushing Meadows – Corona Park in 1964 during the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
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