The US Open will become the third grand slam tennis event to have a roof to protect main-stadium matches from rain and will have two covered venues by 2018.
A $US550 million ($A612.06 million) renovation project will see a $US100 million ($A111.28 million) retractable roof covering Arthur Ashe Stadium as soon as 2016, US Tennis Association (USTA) officials said on Monday as the year's final grand slam tournament began on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.
That two-year protect, to be finished by 2017 at the latest, will be followed by the building of a new roofed Louis Armstrong Stadium to be done in 2017 or 2018.
"The players have given us feedback over the years that they would like a roof," USTA president Dave Haggerty said. "A lot of the things we have done will really enhance the player experience."
US Open men's finals have been postponed by rain to Monday for the past five years. This year and next, the men's final is scheduled for a Monday in a move to give players a rest day between the semi-finals and finals.
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Wimbledon and the Australian Open already boast main stadiums with coverings while the French Open will begin construction of a roof in 2015 with completion set for 2018.
