Gone are the days of knee-length pleated skirts and sweater vests, but tennis still lends itself to some spectacular shots. From shadowed pitches to victory screams, the sport is all action, all the time. This week, with the highly anticipated 2013 U.S. Open upon us, we take a look back at some of the classic moments from the tournament's days gone by.
Regal champion Helen Wills, parosol in hand, carries her rackets to the Women's National Singles Matches, where she was defending her title in 1925.
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In the 1920s, when sweaters and slacks were part of a complete tennis outfit, Bill Tilden swatted the ball to a record seven U.S. Open titles.
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Australian tennis player Rod Laver lifted the U.S. Open trophy after defeating fellow countryman Roy Emerson in the men's singles title in 1962. This victory made Laver the second man in tennis history to win the Grand Slam—with the Australian, Wimbledon, and French titles under his belt.
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In 1968, American tennis player Arthur Ashe held up his trophy after winning the U.S. Open as his opponent, Tom Okker of the Netherlands, looked on. Ashe, 25 at the time, was the first black player to win a Grand Slam title, which he won two more times.
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Billie Jean King hit back to Esme Emmanuel during 1972 U.S. Open. The 16,000-seat West Side Tennis Club in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, which hosted the tournament for six decades.
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Mid-serve, Sweden's Bjorn Borg is caught in action during a match at National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, in 1980.
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A year later, American John McEnroe took on Borg during the Men's Final.
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You don't see glasses like that on the court anymore. In 1985, Martina Navratilova rocked skills and style at the U.S. Open.
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Ivan Lendl prepares for a match at the 1989 event.
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Are those denim shorts on the court? Andrew Agassi made a running hit in 1988.
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Dramatically shadowed, American Chris Evert-Lloyd served at her match in 1985.
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An overjoyed Jimmy Connors celebrates victory during the men's fourth-round match against Aaron Krickstein in the 1991 tournament.
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Add Steffi Graf of Germany to the roster of best winner's faces. Here, she just beat Monica Seles of the U.S. The two had a decade-long rivalry. In 1993, Seles was stabbed between the shoulders by a crazed fan of Graf, and was out of the game for two years.
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Now for the Federer era. In 2007, the Swiss ace was victorious in a finals match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
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Both the look of utter joy and the flying hair make this photo of Serena Williams celebrating the defeat of Victoria Azarenka of Belarus a classic. Williams, in 2012, won the women's singles final match on day 14 of the tournament.
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Beloved Brit Andy Murray celebrates match point during his men's singles semifinal against Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in the 2012 U.S. Open.
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