When tennis players take to the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium this weekend, only two will emerge victorious. The winners of both the men’s and women’s tournaments will lift a trophy, handcrafted at the Tiffany hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
The biggest American sporting events—including this weekend’s U.S. Open finals—feature custom-crafted trophies from the storied luxury jewelry house. A brand new Assouline book, Tiffany & Co.: Crafting Victory, authored by Rachel Cormack and Kirk Goldsberry and featuring an forward by LeBron James, highlights these beautifully crafted trophies, “showcasing imagery, including archival drawings and documents, the artisanal savoir faire of the workshop and acclaimed champion athletes reveling in the joy of victory.”
For the past 37 years, Tiffany & Co. has made the U.S. Open trophies, which include the two keepsake trophies for the men’s and women’s singles champions. Per the USTA, in 2023, “For the first time ever, Tiffany & Co. will oversee on-site, immediate hand-engraving of both the men’s and women’s singles keepsake trophies. Each singles champion will now be able to leave the US Open with their engraved, keepsake trophy in hand.”
Each handcrafted singles trophy takes about four and a half months to create, and the singles cups weigh around 10 pounds and stand at 18.5 inches tall. The doubles trophies measure around 13 inches in diameter and weighing around 5.5 pounds.
The creation of the U.S. Open trophies feature in Assouline’s new book, Crafting Victory.
“Passion is what turns seconds into final sets, minutes into quarters and hours into overtime,” Tiffany & Co. writes about their trophies. “It’s what drives us forward, pushes us through and narrowly separates victory from defeat. Each year, the skilled craftspeople at the Tiffany hollowware workshop use time-honoured techniques to handcraft the most revered symbols of athletic achievement. Why? Because if an athlete can spend their whole life training for one perfect moment, we should do the same.”
This weekend, two new singles champions will lift up the Tiffany & Co. trophies. Here’s how to tune into the U.S. Open finals.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
