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| |  Thursday, 24 August, 2000, 16:19 GMT 17:19 UK Flushing facts and figures The giant Arthur Ashe Stadium The history of the US Open from 1881 to the present day, champions from the past 20 years and other facts. Facts The US National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows contains 45 courts, including 11 practice courts. Fifteen are used for the Open. The biggest is Arthur Ashe stadium, which opened 1997 with a capacity of 23,000. At the time, the old Stadium Court, now called the Louis Armstrong Stadium, was redesigned and its capacity halved to 9,600.
Romanian Irina Spirlea, 68 in the world, is the only woman in the top 100 not entered. She has not played since losing in the first round at Wimbledon. On the evening of the first day�s play, the new Arthur Ashe Commemorative Garden and Sculpture will be unveiled in the south plaza. It honours the legacy of Ashe, in 1968 the first black American champion, who died in 1993. Prize money This year the total prize money will be $15m, making it the richest single sporting event in the world. The singles winners will receive $800,000 and the runner-up $450,000. The richest non-tennis event is the Indianapolis 500, with total prize money of $9m. Key dates 1881: First tournament, held at the Newport Casino.
1973: Equal prize money for men�s and women�s championships introduced. The US Open is still the only Grand Slam event to do this. 1974: Grass courts are replaced by American green clay. 1978: Tournament moves from Forest Hills to Flushing Meadows and is played on hard courts. 1979: Tracey Austin becomes youngest ever women�s champion at 16. 1990: Pete Sampras becomes youngest ever men�s champion at 19. Previous men�s finals 1999 Andre Agassi beat Todd Martin Previous women's finals 1999 Serena Williams beat Martina Hingis | | 
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