Jake Rowland 
Centre Court is the stage Wimbledon players dream of reaching, but it is more than a famous address. Its grass changes as the fortnight goes on, its retractable roof can reshape the atmosphere, and its close-set crowd can make a match feel wonderfully intimate—or intensely pressurized. Knowing a little about the court’s history and quirks … Read more
A Wimbledon ball kid can spend a whole match barely noticed—and that is usually a sign the job is being done well. Behind the quick ball changes and neatly delivered towels is a trained team that has to read play, move safely and stay composed in front of a packed Centre Court. What Wimbledon ball … Read more
At 40–40, the scoreboard says “deuce,” and the next point still doesn’t decide the game. That slightly odd call reflects the key fact about the score: from deuce, a player must get two points ahead to win. Why is it called deuce? Deuce is generally traced to the Old French word deus—the ancestor of modern … Read more
The first time you hear a tennis score, 15, 30, 40, it can sound as if the umpire has skipped a number. The short answer is that “40” is part of a scoring system inherited from older forms of tennis, but nobody can prove exactly why the sequence stops at 40 rather than continuing to … Read more
A tennis scoreboard can make a simple game feel like a small history lesson: the points go from 15 to 30 to 40, then suddenly switch to “deuce” and “advantage.” The short answer is that tennis inherited an old scoring system whose exact origin is uncertain. Its unusual numbers have stuck around because the system … Read more
The last point of a tiebreak can feel like a finish line, but it also starts a short routine: the set is recorded, the players change ends, and the next set’s serving order is already determined. Knowing what happens next makes it easier to follow the score—and to understand why a particular player is serving … Read more
A US Open champion has to solve more than a tennis match: the New York crowd can be loud, the hard court rewards bold hitting, and the final rounds demand stamina. If you’re looking for the tournament’s winners, the key distinction is whether you mean men’s and women’s singles or the doubles and mixed doubles … Read more
A US Open match can begin in daylight, stretch into the evening, and finish beneath the lights with a crowd still roaring. That late-night energy is part of what makes the tournament feel different from the other Grand Slams—but it is only one piece of the event’s traditions. From a signature cocktail to a famous … Read more
At the US Open, a match can begin in the heat of a late-summer afternoon and finish beneath the lights, with a packed New York crowd reacting to every change in momentum. That atmosphere is part of what makes the tournament distinctive—but the event is also easier to enjoy when you know how its draw, … Read more
The US Open is played across a collection of courts, but three stadiums shape the experience for most fans: Arthur Ashe, Louis Armstrong and the Grandstand. Choosing the right ticket—or even the right seat—can change your day from a close-up look at a marquee match to a relaxed wander between courts. Here’s how the stadiums … Read more