By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
It was on August 25, 1997 when Arthur Ashe Stadium officially debuted for play on the first day of the 1997 U.S. Open.
The following is a summary of the day, from the celebration and dedication ceremony to the players who first played matches on the court and their reactions to the new stadium court home for the U.S. Open. This excerpt is taken partially from the book “On This Day In Tennis History” by for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/dLpqiK1
1997 – The United States Tennis Association dedicates Arthur Ashe Stadium with a dramatic evening-time on-court ceremony featuring Ashe’s widow Jeanne Moutassamy Ashe, 38 former U.S. champion and Whitney Houston, who sings “One Moment In Time” to the sell-out audience of 23,000 fans.
“He embodied the best in tennis and sports,” John McEnroe said during the ceremony of Ashe. “He was a remarkable athlete who led an even more remarkable life. He was far and away the greatest ambassador tennis has ever had.”
Former champions participating in the on-court ceremony include Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Monica Seles, who stays on the court for the festivities following her first-round night-match win over Kristie Boogert 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the day, Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand wins the first-ever match on Arthur Ashe Stadium defeating Chanda Rubin 6-4, 6-0.
“I feel very happy that I played in the stadium, to be the first,” says Tanasugarn.
The first men’s match on the court feature two American greats, Jim Courier and Todd Martin with Martin beating his U.S. Davis Cup teammate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
“This facility is vastly improved,” says Martin of the new $254 million refurbishment of the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center. “It’s a great reward for American tennis players. It gives us something to be very proud of, to be able to play not only in one of the most unique cities in the world, but also in one of the more unique and one of the nicer, if not the nicest, tennis facilities in the world. I think the USTA deserves a lot of credit and a lot of praise for what they’ve done. I’m sure there’s going to be a few nitpicky complaints and criticisms here and there, but I think the public should be pleased and the players and (the media) and everybody else involved with the tournament should be pretty pleased. I think some people in the public might get the short end of the stick, but that usually comes with change.”
“I like this one a lot better than the old one,” says Courier, comparing Louis Armstrong Stadium to the new Ashe Stadium “I think it’s a lot warmer inside. I think one thing that’s good about it, too, for some reason, with the construction of this one, the winds don’t swirl. They’re much more consistent. The other one, it was kind of like a toilet bowl, went all the way around. You can quote me on that.”
Future world No. 1 and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams makes her U.S. Open debut, also on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, and defeats Larisa Neiland of Latvia in the first round 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.
“It was definitely a privilege playing on this court,” says the 17-year-old Williams. “Definitely a perfect name to name the court after. And Arthur has done a lot for the game, a lot for the world. He was a great role model, not just on the court but off the court also. It’s a good thing.”
