Arthur Ashe Stadium opened at the US Open in 1997. It was built at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, replacing Louis Armstrong Stadium as the tournament’s main court.
The stadium officially opened on August 25, 1997, during ceremonies featuring Whitney Houston. The first official match on its court was played at that year’s US Open, when Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn defeated American Chanda Rubin.
The venue is named for Arthur Ashe, who won the inaugural US Open in 1968—the first edition open to professional players. Its opening therefore connected the tournament’s modern expansion with one of its most important champions.
A common mix-up is confusing the stadium’s opening with the opening of the USTA National Tennis Center, where the US Open has been held since 1978. Another is confusing Arthur Ashe Stadium with the current Louis Armstrong Stadium, which opened two decades later, in 2018.