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The first Australian Open was held in 1905 at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground, where it went under the name of the Australasian Championships until 1912, with Australia and New Zealand sharing the organisation of the event. Women were only allowed to enter in 1922 and it was not until the late 1970s that the major overseas stars made the long trip to compete on a regular basis. Unsurprisingly, therefore, almost all the winners prior to that time were Australian. In 1972, the Australian Lawn Tennis Association decided to move the event every year. Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and even New Zealand all played host to the championships, before the Open finally found a more stable home in Melbourne, first in Kooyong, then at Flinders Park in 1988. The move to Flinders Park coincided with two significant developments: the historic decision was made to transfer the tournament from grass to a hard surface called Rebound Ace, and the event became the only Grand Slam tournament to boast a court with a sliding roof. Flinders Park was renamed Melbourne Park in 1997. Title holders are Marat Safin and Serena Williams.

Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. The "Lawn Tennis World Championships" were first staged in 1877 by the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (who are still the organisers and owners of the courts today), the Ladies Singles were added in 1884. The Wimbledon Championships have never left the London district which bears their name, although they did move from Worple Road to Church Road in 1922, when the challenge round (a rule whereby the previous year's champion automatically qualified for the next year's final) was dropped.

Wimbledon is widely recognised as being the most prestigious tournament of all. Its strict regulations, such as its dress code whereby players are expected to be dressed mostly in white, are legendary. The Championships were only opened to professionals in 1974, following a boycott by the ATP the previous year. Title holders are Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova.

The US Open was first held at Newport in August 1881, where it was staged every year until 1914. The challenge round was abandoned in 1911. Until 1970, only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter. The Ladies Singles were first played in 1887 in Philadelphia, and it wasn't until 1915 that the men's and women's events were staged simultaneously at Forest Hill West Side Tennis Club in New York.

In 1978, the tournament moved to the Decoturf hard courts of Flushing Meadows in Queens. The US Open has the largest central court in the world : the Arthur Ashe Stadium was opened in 1997 and seats 23,000 fans. In 1999, the former central court was renamed the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Title holders are Roger Federer and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

3.7 million dollars prize-money are up for grabs at this year's extravaganza, which begins on 13 November 2005 in Shanghai, like in 2002, but in a brand new stadium. The top eight players in the ATP Champions Race at the end of the season will again qualify, with one important proviso - should a winner of one of this year's Grand Slams finish outside the top eight, as was the case for Albert Costa in 2002, he will still qualify for the Masters Cup providing he finishes in the Top 20. Last year, in Houston, Roger Federer took the crown for the second time. Masters Cup singles and doubles tournaments are held at the same time in the same stadium. The Bryan brothers are the title holders.