This year’s US Open featured many compelling storylines highlighted by Andre Agassi's tearful farewell to professional tennis after valiantly fighting through three rounds with a sore back. Roger Federer cemented his status as the best tennis player on the planet by winning his third-straight US Open title. Federer, the world No. 1, defeated No. 9 American Andy Roddick (6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1) in the final to win his ninth Grand Slam title. No. 3 Maria Sharapova defeated No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne (6-4, 6-4) in the women's final to win the second Grand Slam title of her career.

Federer is the first man since Ivan Lendl in 1985-87 to win three consecutive US Open titles. Federer also made history by becoming the only man in tennis history to win the US Open and Wimbledon back-to-back three years in a row. At age 25, Federer is now five Grand Slam titles away from matching Pete Sampras’ record of 14.

Sharapova won her third title of 2006 as she improved to 58-14 on the season. Henin-Hardenne, a finalist at all four majors in 2006, won a third French Open title this season at Roland Garros, but lost finals in Australia and at Wimbledon. Sharapova’s win denied second-seeded Belgian Henin-Hardenne the chance to regain the world number 1 ranking from Amelie Mauresmo.

In addition to the stellar performances at this year’s Open, fans also got to witness the final performances of Andre Agassi and Martina Navratilova’s professional careers. Prior to competing in Wimbledon earlier in the summer, Agassi announced that this year’s Open would be his last professional tournament. He was knocked out of contention for his 9th Grand Slam title in the third round by Benjamin Becker in four sets (5-7, 7-6, 4-6, 5-7). Agassi is one of five players to win all four tennis Grand Slam events. Since turning professional in 1986, he has won 60 ATP titles, has seven Grand Slam runner-ups and remains the only tennis player besides his wife, Steffi Graf, to own a Grand Slam and an Olympic gold medal. Navratilova closed out her illustrious professional career with a mixed doubles championship—her 59th Grand Slam title. Navratilova, with partner Bob Bryan, defeated the team of Kueta Peschke and Martin Damm in straight sets (6-2, 6-3).

Another highlight from this year’s Open was the United States Tennis Association’s renaming of the USTA National Tennis Center the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the opening-night ceremony on August 28. King won 39 grand slam singles titles in her illustrious 15-year career, including a record 20 Wimbledon titles and four US Open championships. King was also active off of the court co-founding the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, the governing body of women’s professional tennis, as well as World Team Tennis, the Women's Sports Foundation and the Virginia Slims Tour. The tennis center, which has 45 courts and is open to the public, is considered one of the most prominent sports facilities named for a woman.

The United States Open Tennis Championship has the largest purse of any Grand Slam in the world. This year marked the ninth anniversary of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the crown jewel of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

The US Open has redefined the sports landscape of New York City as one of its premier annual events. With its ability to drive tourism and spending during the two-week period in August and September, the US Open has the greatest economic impact of any sporting event hosted in New York City.

Recent US Open Champions

Year	Men’s Champion	Women’s Champion
2006	Roger Federer	Maria Sharapova
2005	Roger Federer	Kim Clijsters
2004	Roger Federer	Svetlana Kuznetsova
2003	Andy Roddick	Justine Henin-Hardenne
2002	Pete Sampras	Serena Williams
2001	Lleyton Hewitt	Venus Williams
2000	Marat Safin	Venus Williams
1999	Andre Agassi	Serena Williams
1998	Patrick Rafter	Lindsay Davenport
1997	Patrick Rafter	Martina Hingis
1996	Pete Sampras	Steffi Graf
1995	Pete Sampras	Steffi Graf
1994	Andre Agassi	Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
1993	Pete Sampras	Steffi Graf
1992	Stefan Edberg	Monica Seles
1991	Stefan Edberg	Monica Seles
1990	Pete Sampras	Gabriela Sabatini

To learn about the history of the US Open Championships, please visit our
US Open History Page or our US Open Archive Page.

For additional information, please visit the official US Open website at

www.usopen.org.

For information about Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, please visit our
Arthur Ashe Kids' Day page.