When was the first tennis major comprising the Grand Slam before the US Open first held?
Australian Open The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Prior to 1988 the tournament had been played on grass courts, but since then two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park – green coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007 and, afterwards, blue Plexicushion.
1881 Men's Tennis season The 1881 Men's tennis season was composed of the fifth annual pre-open era tour now incorporated 32 tournaments staged in Australia, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States. The 1881 Wimbledon Championships was won by William Renshaw. This year also saw the inaugural and important 1881 U.S. National Championships held at Newport Casino which Richard Sears had won. This was also the year that the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, which is the world's first national tennis association, was founded. Renshaw then had won two other big tournaments of the year picking up the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and Princes Club Championships, whilst Richard Taswell Richardson wins the prestigious Northern Championships.