2016 US Open (tennis)
The 2016 US Open was the 136th edition of tennis' US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It took place on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. In the men's singles competition, Stan Wawrinka defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final. Angelique Kerber defeated Karolína Plíšková in the women's singles to become the first German player to win the tournament since Steffi Graf in 1996. 2015 women's singles champion Flavia Pennetta did not defend her title as  she had retired at the end of the 2015 season. This tournament turned out to be the last one in the career of former No.1 player in the world and 2008 French Open women's singles champion Ana Ivanovic, who announced her retirement from professional tennis at the end of the year. Tournament. The 2016 US Open was the 136th edition of the tournament and it was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. The tournament was an event run by the  International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was part of the 2016 ATP World Tour and the 2016 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consists of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event. There are also singles and doubles events for both boys and girls (players under 18), which is part of the Grade A category of tournaments. In addition, the annual men's and women's Champions Invitational doubles events were held, with eight male and eight female former Grand Slam champions taking part. For the third  year running, the American Collegiate Invitational competitions were organized, where top sixteen American collegiate players compete in men's and women's singles events. Exhibition matches also took place. Due to the 2016 Summer Paralympics, no usual singles, doubles and quad events for men's and women's wheelchair tennis players as part of the UNIQLO tour under the Grand Slam category were played. The tournament was played on hard courts and took place on a series of 17 courts with DecoTurf surface, including the three main showcourts – Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the new Grandstand. It was  the first US Open played on courts with operational roofs: on centre court and on the newly built Grandstand stadium. The Ashe roof was expected to be used only for rain, unlike the Australian Open, which also closes its roof in cases of extreme heat. It was also the last tournament before the demolition of Louis Armstrong Stadium and the old Grandstand. Arthur Ashe Stadium and the new Grandstand would be the existing main stadiums for the 2017 edition. For the second year running, the US Open was scheduled across 14 days, rather than the 15-day schedule of 2013  and 2014, which impacted all senior events. Women's singles semifinals have been scheduled for September 8 evening session, while men's singles semifinal matches was played on Friday September 9. The men's doubles final was played before the women's singles final on Saturday, September 10, and the men's singles final followed the women's doubles final on Sunday, September 11. Broadcast. In the United States, the 2016 US Open was the second under a new, 11-year, $825 million contract with ESPN, in which the broadcaster holds exclusive rights to the entire tournament and the  US Open Series. This means that the tournament was not available on broadcast television. This also makes ESPN the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for three of the four tennis majors. Live action from a total of twelve courts was available this year (Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand, Court 4, Court 5, Court 6, Court 9, Court 11, Court 12, Court 13, Court 17 and Court P6/Old Grandstand), an increase from eleven in 2015. Point and prize money distribution. Point distribution. Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for  each event. Prize money. The total prize-money compensation for the 2016 US Open is $46.3 million, a 10% increase on the same total last year. Of that total, a record $3.5 million goes to both the men's and women's singles champions. This made the US Open the most lucrative and highest paying tennis grand slam in the world, leapfrogging Wimbledon in total prize money fund. Prize money for the US Open qualifying tournament is also up 10 percent, to $1.9 million. On top of listed above, $600,000 will contribute Champions Invitational events prize  money, while $1,478,000 is estimated as players' "per diem". A total of men's and women's singles prize money ($36,324,000) will account for more than 78% of total player compensation, while doubles ($5,463,000) and mixed doubles ($500,000) – for 12% and 1%, respectively. Bonus prize money. The top three men's and top three women's finishers in the 2016 US Open Series also earn bonus prize money at the US Open, with the champions of the Series Bonus Challenge having the opportunity to win $1 million in addition to their tournament prize money. The  two players had met 23 times prior, with Djokovic winning on 19 occasions. This was Wawrinka's first appearance in the final of the tournament. Defending champion Djokovic started well, taking Wawrinka's first service game. Djokovic lost an opportunity to serve out the first set, and the set went into a tie-break. There Wawrinka won the third point but lost another seven, and Djokovic took the first set. In the second set, Wawrinka broke first to lead 3–1. Djokovic broke back and held serve to draw at 4–4, but lost his subsequent serve to allow Wawrinka to take  the second set 6–4. Djokovic soon trailed 3–0 at the beginning of the third set but levelled it at 5–5. Wawrinka again broke serve in the final game to take the third set 7–5. Wawrinka started the fourth set like the last two, breaking Djokovic's first service game to lead 3–0. Djokovic received two medical timeouts midway through but was unable to prevent Wawrinka from winning the set 6–3 and his first US Open title. Kerber started the match as favorite to win, having assured the No. 1 women's ranking on 12 September. Plíšková reached her first grand  slam final, having never previously made it past the third round, by beating home favorite Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Kerber started strongly, breaking Plíšková's first service game and won the first set 6–3 with another break in serve. Plíšková fought back, breaking midway into the second set to take it into a deciding set. In the third set, Plíšková broke Kerber's second service game to lead, before Kerber levelled the set at 3–3. With the match at 5–4, Plíšková served to stay in the match but Kerber won it in a love game to secure her  first US Open title. External links.