The U.S. Open holds plenty of iconic tennis history over the course of its 46 years in the Open Era. When looking at some of the major tournament’s biggest moments, it’s excruciatingly hard to narrow the list down—the history is never ending in Flushing Meadows.
Just the past 25 years at the U.S. Open has held memorable tennis scenes, from watching Serena and Venus Williams battle it out in the women's final, to Andy Roddick winning his sole major title, to witnessing the Big Three—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—make history in New York.
Here’s some of the 10 biggest moments in the past 25 years of the U.S. Open, in chronological order. It’ll be exciting to see which moments make history in this year’s tournament.
10 Best Moments of the U.S. Open in the Past 25 Years
2001: Venus and Serena Williams Facing Each Other in Final for First Time
Both Venus and Serena Williams captured their first U.S. Open titles before 2001 (Serena in 1999 and Venus in 2000), but that year marked the first time the sisters faced each other in a major final. The matchup was so highly anticipated that the U.S. Open changed their normal scheduling for the match—the women’s final was shown on primetime on Saturday evening for the first time in the tournament’s history.
The elder Williams sister ended up taking the victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win over her little sister. This was the mark of tennis’ next great rivalry, one that was filled with compassion and respect as the Williams sisters truly were each other’s biggest fans.
The Williams sisters went on to face each other in eight more major finals throughout their careers. Serena took the upper hand quickly after the ‘01 U.S. Open, beating her older sister in their three major final meetups in 2002 (including getting revenge at the U.S. Open). Serena holds six major final wins over her sister, with the most recent coming at the 2017 Australian Open.
2002: Pete Sampras Ending His Career With a U.S. Open Title
Pete Sampras is one of the most notable names in American men’s tennis history. He dominated the U.S. Open in the 1990s, winning four titles in seven years. He’s still the youngest man to ever win the U.S. Open in 1990 when he was 19. But, after the turn of the century, Sampras’s dominance seemed to be dwindling.
Sampras reached the U.S. Open finals in both 2000 and ‘01, but lost in both. His glory days seemed to be over until he worked his way to the 2002 final in New York. This time, he beat fellow American tennis icon Andre Agassi in four sets. He was a major champion once again.
This ended up being Sampras’s last professional tennis match, even though fans didn’t realize it at the time. He didn’t play in 2003 and announced his retirement before the U.S. Open that year. What a way to end an incredible career.
2003: Andy Roddick Winning His Sole Major Title
When you think of the best moments of the U.S. Open in the 2000s, it’s hard not to think about Andy Roddick’s ‘03 win. The American tennis star won his first and only major that year in New York, and it stands as the most recent time an American man won any of the majors. Roddick’s name is brought up each and every year at the U.S. Open as the next American stars look to break the streak.
The summer of ‘03 for Roddick was arguably his best as he won 20 of 21 matches heading into the U.S. Open, including a win over Roger Federer. Roddick became World No. 1 shortly after his victory, too. Federer would later beat Roddick in the 2006 U.S. Open final.
Although Roddick ended up retiring in 2012, his name stays synonymous with the U.S. Open even 20-plus years later. And it all started in the summer of ‘03.
2008: Roger Federer Winning Fifth Straight U.S. Open Title
Roger Federer dominated tennis in the 2000s and quickly became the world’s biggest tennis star, partially because of his winning streak at the U.S. Open. Federer won five straight titles in New York from 2004-08, which makes him tied for the longest streak in men’s tennis in the Open Era. In the span leading up to the ‘08 U.S. Open, he captured 11 of the 16 majors he competed in.
Federer beat Andy Murray (who was playing in his first career major final) in three sets in 2008. It ended up being the Swiss star’s final U.S. Open title in his career as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, among others, began their reigns after this season. But, what an exciting time those five years were for Federer in New York.
2010: Rafael Nadal Completing Career Grand Slam
Rafael Nadal was becoming the next big tennis star in the late 2000s, and he solidified his legendary status at the 2010 U.S. Open as he clinched his career grand slam. After Nadal won his first major title at the ‘05 French Open, he went on to win Wimbledon in ‘08 and the Australian Open in ‘09. He just needed the American major title to complete the rare and incredible grand slam feat.
Then, in 2010 at age 24, Nadal became the youngest men’s player to complete his career grand slam. He beat Novak Djokovic in a four-set match on a Monday after a rain delay. Nadal went on to win three more U.S. Open titles in his career.
2011: Novak Djokovic's First U.S. Open Win During Monster Season
After losing to Nadal in the 2010 U.S. Open final, Djokovic returned to Flushing Meadows on top of the world and with a vengeance. He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles that year, and he was ready to capture his first U.S. Open victory. Djokovic reached World No. 1 status just a month before the major tournament.
The Serbian nearly lost in the semifinals to Federer after he was down two match points in the third set. Djokovic ended up bouncing back and captured the final three sets to advance to the final to face Nadal in a repeat matchup from the previous year. This time, he beat Nadal in four sets to win his fourth career major. He now has 24 majors—time does fly.
2017: Sloane Stephens Winning U.S. Open to Become Next Big American Star
Watching an American win the U.S. Open title is always memorable, but Sloane Stephens’s path to the championship was a surprising one, to say the least. Stephens underwent foot surgery the year before and only played in five tournaments before the U.S. Open. She entered the final major of the year ranked No. 83 in the world as she climbed her way back up the WTA list.
Stephens went on to beat five seeded players on her journey to victory, including former champion Venus Williams. An all-American final was set up between Stephens and No. 15 Madison Keys—Stephens was seen as the underdog once again in this match. She dominated over Keys, winning 6-3, 6-0 to hoist up her first major trophy. With the win, Stephens became the first American woman player without the last name “Williams” to win a major since the 2002 Australian Open.
2018: Controversial Women's Final Between Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka
The 2018 U.S. Open final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka may be one of the most memorable in tournament history, but not necessarily for all good reasons. The 20-year-old Japanese tennis phenom Osaka faced her tennis idol on the major stage—it was a dream come true for her. But, Williams faced intense pressure from the outside as fans wanted to see her tie Margaret Court’s longstanding all-time major title record at 24. Winning the U.S. Open would allow Williams to tie that record. In the end, though, Osaka kept Williams from achieving that feat.
The entire match was full of controversial moments, Williams received three code violations for coaching, racket abuse and vocal abuse after she fought with the chair umpire. Some felt that the match was taken away from Williams because of these violations disrupting her play. When Osaka accepted the champion’s trophy after winning 6-2, 6-4, the Arthur Ashe crowd booed her. Osaka cried on stage. It’s hard to forget this moment.
This match opened the eyes of tennis fans everywhere as conversations around race, gender and legacy status stemmed from this incident. Even almost a decade later and after Williams has stepped away from the sport, this match is still talked about.
2022: Serena Williams's Last Professional Tennis Match
Ahead of the 2022 U.S. Open, Serena Williams announced in a Vogue story that she would be “evolving away” from the sport of tennis after the tournament. Immediately, the U.S. Open became a “going-away” party for the biggest name in tennis. All eyes were on the 40-year-old to see how she would do at her likely final major tournament.
Williams busted out cruising, to no one’s surprise. She even beat No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in a huge second round upset. This set up a third-round matchup vs. Ajla Tomljanovic. No one wanted to be the person to “retire” Williams, but Tomljanovic ended up being that player. After three intense sets (which included a second-set tiebreak win by Williams), Tomljanovic sealed the win and effectively ended Williams’s professional career.
It was an emotional night at Arthur Ashe, to say the least as there wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium. Williams will always be one of the most famous American athletes ever, not just in women’s tennis. She’s referred to as the “G.O.A.T.” for many reasons. It was fitting for her to end her storied tennis career at the U.S. Open.
2023: Coco Gauff Winning First Major at Age 19
Just a year after Williams walked away from tennis, Coco Gauff solidified herself as the next big American women’s tennis star. At just 19 years old in 2023, Gauff won her first major title at the U.S. Open.
Gauff dropped the first set to Aryna Sabalenka, but came back and beat Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in the next two sets to capture the title. She became the first teenager since Wiliams to win the U.S. Open—she instantly was donned the “next big thing” in tennis. Now, two years later, Gauff returns as a 21-year-old and as a two-time major champion thanks to her victory at the French Open in June. We’ll see if she can win another one in New York.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 10 Most Memorable Moments From the U.S. Open in the Last 25 Years.
