News

White Plains, N.Y. – The USTA today announced the entertainment lineup for the 2015 US Open. In addition to the previously announced Josh Groban who will headline this year’s Opening Night Ceremonies, noted performers Vanessa Williams, Ciara and Aloe Blacc have now been added to perform the National Anthem or other patriotic songs on Opening Night and Finals Weekend.

Multi-platinum recording artist, and star of TV, film and the Broadway stage, Vanessa Williams will perform the National Anthem on Opening Night of the US Open. Williams has sold over 7 million records worldwide and is one of just a few artists to score No. 1 and Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Album and Singles charts in the combined areas of Pop, Dance, R&B, Adult Contemporary, Holiday, Latin, Gospel and Jazz. Her critically acclaimed work in film, television, recordings and Broadway has been recognized with every major industry award affiliation including four Emmy nominations, 17 Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, and seven NAACP Image Awards.

Ciara is a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/actress who has sold over 10 million albums and 20 million singles worldwide. She has 27 charted singles including “Goodies,” “Ride,” “Oh,” “1 2 Step,” “Body Party”, and “I Bet” from her current album, Jackie on Epic Records (her sixth studio release). The current single “Dance Like We’re Making Love” has over 25 million views on VEVO since its July 19, 2015 premiere. Ciara has appeared on both television and in films. Her credits include: NBC’s “I Can Do That” (2015), “The Game” on BET (2013), the films “That’s My Boy,” “Mamma I Want To Sing,” (2012) and “All You’ve Got” (2006). She is currently the 2015/2016 face of Roberto Cavalli and the newly-announced US Ambassador of the UK retailer, Topshop.

American rapper, songwriter, singer, actor, record producer, businessman and musician Aloe Blacc will perform “America the Beautiful” before the Men’s Final of the 2015 US Open. His affecting voice, perceptive lyrics, and dapper sartorial flair are familiar to music lovers around the world. He is best known for writing and performing vocals on Avicii’s international hit single “Wake Me Up,” which charted at No. 1 in 22 countries.

The Women’s and Men’s Final Ceremonies each will include the traditional unfurling of a giant American Flag across the court by members of the United States Marine Corps, and the Men’s Final will include a military flyover by the United States Air Force.

The Opening Night Ceremony will be carried live by ESPN 2 on Monday, August 31 at 7:00 pm ET. The Women’s Final Ceremony will be carried live by ESPN on Saturday, September 12 at 3:00 pm ET. The Men’s Final Ceremony will be carried live by ESPN on Sunday, September 13 at 4:00 pm ET.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.