Until the creation of the stadium Arthur Ashe in 1997, the court Louis Armstrong it was the most important of the Flushing Meadows complex. There came champions of the US Open legends like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras, among others. But who was Louis Armstrong and why is his name so iconic for American tennis even though he never ever held a racket?
The Sporting News reviews the history of the man who left such a mark.
Who was Louis Armstrong?
Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, born in 1901 and died in 1971, has nothing to do with sports. From a young age he was attached to the song. And his approach to the instruments took place in a very particular way. At the age of 11, fired a gun into the sky on new year’s eve 1912 and a judge committed him to a Colored Children’s Home. There he would meet director Peter Davis.
Jazz would get him and Satchmo would stand out with the trumpet and cornet. In 1924, after marrying Lillian Hardin, he left New Orleans, the cradle of American music, to move to New York, one of the capitals of the world, very close to where the stadium is. There he joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and then international fame would come.
After recording records that would remain immortal, acting for royalty, filming movies and appearing on television, Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971. The musician is a great reference for African-American culture for his defense of black rights.
The beginnings of Louis Armstrong Stadium
The US Open wasn’t always played where it is today and when the fourth Grand Slam came to Flushing Meadows the stadium was already named. This had been built by Singer Sewing Machine Company (international sewing machine company) for its exhibition at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. In 1972, after the musician’s death, the Singer Bowl was transformed into the Louis Armstrong.
Although the old stadium was demolished in 2016 and reopened in 2018, the authorities of the USTA (United States Tennis Association) determined to keep the name as well as the legacy alive. The second most important court in the complex has a capacity for 14,000 spectators and now has a retractable roof.
