(Reuters) – The U.S. Open is a hardcourt Grand Slam tournament organised by the United States Tennis Association. It was first held in 1881 and originally known as the U.S. National Championships.

Here is what you need to know about the year’s final major:

WHEN IS THE U.S. OPEN HAPPENING?

* This year’s U.S. Open runs from Aug. 26-Sept. 8.

WHERE IS THE U.S. OPEN TAKING PLACE?

* The U.S. Open is held in New York every year.

* The three main showcourts at the U.S. Open are Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand.

* Arthur Ashe Stadium (capacity: 23,771) is named after the only Black man to claim singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. He was also a prominent human rights activist.

* Louis Armstrong Stadium (capacity: 14,053) was named after jazz great Armstrong who lived a few blocks from the venue until he died in 1971. It was opened during the 2018 event to replace the 1978 stadium of the same name and has a retractable roof like the main court.

* The Grandstand (capacity: 8,125) made its debut on Aug. 29, 2016, the opening day of the 2016 U.S. Open.

WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE U.S. OPEN?

* The top-ranked players automatically enter the main draw with 32 seeds announced prior to the draw to ensure they do not meet in the early rounds. Seedings are based on world rankings determined by the points players collect on the tour.

* Holder Novak Djokovic is the men’s world number two. He has won 24 Grand Slams.

* Home hero Coco Gauff is the women’s world number three and will defend her New York crown, the 20-year-old’s only Grand Slam title to date.

* Organisers also hand out wildcards for local hopes and notable players who have dropped down the rankings.

TOP RANKED PLAYERS

MEN

1 Jannik Sinner (Italy)

2 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

3 Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)

4 Alexander Zverev (Germany)

5 Daniil Medvedev (Russia)

6 Andrey Rublev (Russia)

7 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)

8 Casper Ruud (Norway)

9 Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

10 Alex de Minaur (Australia)

WOMEN

1 Iga Swiatek (Poland)

2 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)

3 Coco Gauff (United States)

4 Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)

5 Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

6 Jessica Pegula (United States)

7 Zheng Qinwen (China)

8 Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)

9 Maria Sakkari (Greece)

10 Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)

WHERE TO WATCH THE U.S. OPEN ON TV

The full list of official broadcasters of the U.S. Open in each country can be found here.

* Africa: beIN Sports and SuperSport.

* Europe: Eurosport, Sky Sports, Puls4, SRF/RSI, Sportdeutschland.TV, SuperTennis and Telefonica/Movistar.

* Asia Pacific & Oceania: CCTV, CJ ENM, Digicel, MIGU, Nine, PCCW, Sportcast, TDM, SPOTV, Stan Sport, TVNZ and WOWOW.

* India & subcontinent: Sony Sports Network.

* Latin America & Caribbean: ESPN International

* Middle East: beIN Sports.

* North America: ESPN, TSN, RDS

(Compiled by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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