The United States Women's Open, a.k.a. U.S. Women's Open or Women's U.S. Open, is an annual tournament for women, dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. From its inception in 1949 until its cancellation in 2004, after the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) folded, the event was held every year except for 1953, 1997 and 2002. From 1949 through 1970, the tournament was known as the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA) Women's All-Star. From 1971 on, it became known as the U.S. Women's Open. Marion Ladewig won this tournament eight times when it was the BPAA Women's All-Star. Liz Johnson has the most modern era (since 1971) U.S. Women's Open victories with six.

The U.S. Women's Open returned in 2007, being conducted by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) from that year through 2010. The BPAA announced in June, 2010, that it would resume conducting the tournament, beginning in 2011. The TV finals for the 2011 event took place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with over 8,000 fans in attendance.

The 2012 tournament held its final round outdoors in Reno, Nevada on a specially-prepared pair of lanes. As the telecast began, winds up to 24 mph (38 km/h) began to deposit dust onto the lane surface, making the lanes virtually unplayable with standard reactive equipment and angles. Players began switching to plastic bowling balls as the dust continued to accumulate. Kelly Kulick survived a 170–160 final match against Missy Parkin to take the title.

The tournament was not held in 2014, due to lack of viable sponsorship. Instead, the BPAA Women's All-Star returned for a year along with the Senior Women's US Open. The U.S. Women's Open returned for 2015, as the USBC and BPAA announced that Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, had signed on as the title sponsor. The 2015 U.S. Women's Open took place August 31 through September 6 in North Brunswick, New Jersey, as part of the re-launched PWBA Tour.

Tournament history

2026 Event The 2026 U.S. Women's Open was held June 11–16 (PTQ on June 9) at Royal Pin Woodland Lanes in Indianapolis, with the live finals broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The tournament had 108 entries and a total prize fund of $279,000. The top 36 players (1:3) cashed, with $60,000 going to the winner. Fourth-seeded Jillian Martin climbed the ladder, eventually defeating top seed and former U.S. Women's Open champion Sin Li Jane in the championship match. After the two tied the regulation match at 212, Martin won on the fourth ball of sudden death roll-off, getting a strike to Jane's 9-count. It was the fourth PWBA Tour win for Martin and her second major.

A five-person stepladder format was used for the final round.

*Sudden death roll-off results: Martin 37 (X, 7, X, X), Jane 36 (X, 7, X, 9)

Final Standings

1. Jillian Martin (Stow, Ohio) – $60,000 2. Sin Li Jane (Malaysia) – $30,000 3. Dasha Kovalova (Muskegon, Michigan) – $22,000 4. Diana Zavjalova (Riga, Latvia) – $17,000 5. Jordan Snodgrass (Adrian, Michigan) – $13,000

Past winners

U.S. Women's OpenTop Finishers By Year – U.S. Women's Open (Bowling), 1971 – Paula Sperber 1972 – Lorrie Koch 1973 – Mildred Martorella 1974 – Pat Costello 1975 – Paula Carter (née Sperber) (2) 1976 – Patty Costello 1977 – Betty Morris 1978 – Donna Adamek 1979 – Diana Silva 1980 – Pat Costello (2) 1981 – Donna Adamek (2) 1982 – Shinobu Saitoh 1983 – Dana Miller 1984 – Karen Ellingsworth 1985 – Pat Mercatanti 1986 – Wendy Macpherson 1987 – Carol Norman 1988 – Lisa Wagner 1989 – Robin Romeo 1990 – Dana Miller-Mackie (2) 1991 – Anne Marie Duggan 1992 – Tish Johnson 1993 – Dede Davidson 1994 – Aleta Sill 1995 – Cheryl Daniels 1996 – Liz Johnson 1997 — Tournament not held 1998 – Aleta Sill (2) 1999 – Kim Adler 2000 – Tennelle Grijalva (née Milligan) 2001 – Kim Terrell 2002 — Tournament not held 2003 – Kelly Kulick 2004 — Tournament not held 2005 — Tournament not held 2006 — Tournament not held 2007 – Liz Johnson (2) 2008 – Kim Terrell-Kearney (2) 2009 – Tammy Boomershine (née Turner) 2010 – Kelly Kulick (2) 2011 – Leanne Hulsenberg (née Barrette) 2012 – Kelly Kulick (3) 2013 – Liz Johnson (3) 2014 — Tournament not held (BPAA Women's All-Star was held) 2015 – Liz Johnson (4) 2016 – Liz Johnson (5) 2017 – Liz Johnson (6) 2018 – Liz Kuhlkin 2019 – Danielle McEwan 2020 – Not held (COVID-19) 2021 – Josie Barnes 2022 – Erin McCarthy 2023 – Bryanna Coté 2024 – Sin Li Jane 2025 – New Hui Fen 2026 – Jillian Martin

BPAA Women's All-Star 1949 – Marion Ladewig 1950 – Marion Ladewig (2) 1951 – Marion Ladewig (3) 1952 – Marion Ladewig (4) 1954 – Marion Ladewig (5) 1955 – Sylvia Wene 1956 (Dec. 1955) – Anita Cantaline 1957 (Dec. 1956) – Marion Ladewig (6) 1958 – Merle Matthews 1959 – Marion Ladewig (7) 1960 – Sylvia Wene (2) 1961 – Phyllis Notaro 1962 – Shirley Garms 1963 – Marion Ladewig (8) 1964 – LaVerne Carter 1965 – Ann Slattery 1966 – Joy Abel 1967 – Gloria Simon 1968 – Dotty Fothergill 1969 – Dotty Fothergill (2) 1970 – Mary Baker 2014 - Shannon Pluhowsky

References

External links Official web site Previous winners (1949 to 2003)