US Open Tennis

[DukeDude]

I know it isn't until Labor Day, but the tickets for this year's Open go on sale next week, and I have a few questions for anyone who has been there. I am looking to go to one or 2 sessions over Labor Day weekend sometime during the 2nd-4th round.

How tough of a ticket will this be? Will they be gone by the end of the first day? Or the first hour? Is the tennis still watchable from the upper parts of the upper deck in Arthur Ashe Stadium?

I am thinking that I want to get tickets for a day session to have the opportunity to see all of the action going on at the side courts. How many people can watch at the lesser courts? Is it worth going to an early round night session, or does it lack the drama and crowd involvement of the later rounds? Or do they horde all of the good players for night matches only?

Any other advice for a first time Open visitor?

[BlueDevilBaby]

I have attended the US Open for several years, although not consistently for some time. You can see quite well in the upper deck of Arthur Ashe. IMO, the best day is the second Tuesday. You are usually guaranteed to see more than one top-ranked player on each of the main courts. You cannot beat the King stadium now for closeness to the action with the upper level removed. I also like the grandstand. I have found it difficult to get into some of the side courts now as the crowds are so much bigger than several years ago prior to the opening of Ashe stadium. In any event, it is still one of my favorite sporting events to attend. I recommend highly watching some at the practice courts where you can get an up close view of just how hard players work, even if they are not top-ten or even 50. Any night session is also a lot of fun. I worked at a clothing booth in King stadium for a couple years and was able to watch each night session. Of course, the later the round the more intense, but the atmosphere on any night is better than any day. Hope you enjoy!

Another fun thing to do if you have time is attend the Ashe junior tournament the weekend prior to the first rounds of the Open. Up and coming juniors are there and many Open players are around practicing. For example, I played in the event twice and both of those times Steffi Graff did as well. She was around 10 and 11 years old and all braces and legs.

[DukeDude]

Another fun thing to do if you have time is attend the Ashe junior tournament the weekend prior to the first rounds of the Open. Up and coming juniors are there and many Open players are around practicing. For example, I played in the event twice and both of those times Steffi Graff did as well. She was around 10 and 11 years old and all braces and legs.

Wow, you must have been one heckuva player!

Thanks for the info. I am stoked already and it is only May.

[TampaDuke]

I went last year during the first weekend. You should get your tickets as soon as they go on sale, especially if you want to be in Arthur Ashe stadium. The ticket to Ashe will get you in to the other stadium courts and grounds courts as well. Individual tickets to these will likely sell out immediately, particularly since many are already sold as part of Full Series subscriptions and as part of the pre-sale to USTA members a month ago.

Except for late in the tourney or night sessions, you can also buy tickets just for the grounds, the Grandstand or Armstrong stadium, but these won't get you in to Ashe stadium where the bigger names will be playing.

From my experience the past two years, if you wait to buy tickets, they will still be plentiful on stubhub, ebay and the like, but you will pay a good premium for them depending upon the day you want and the ticket you want. I had to buy two extra Ashe tickets in August last year because we decided to take some family. My recollection was that an $80 dollar Ashe ticket for the first weekend sold for about $150-$200 per ticket (upper deck).

In Ashe, closer is better, but I agree with BDB that there are no bad seats and they are worth every penny. From my experience, just about any seat in any of the other stadiums or at other courts were great, and they were plentiful as well.

FWIW, I enjoyed the day session during the first weekend better than the night session. There was more going on, more matches to choose from and just much more of an experience than just watching the matches.

[Bluedog]

I personally find the grounds matches more fun to watch than Ashe - yeah, at Ashe you'll get bigger names, but the intimacy is not there. Plus, if you're really into tennis you'll know the great history of many of the players on the outside courts and its fun (and cheaper) to watch. If you're just a casual tennis fan, however, I could see paying the premium to watch the premiere players in Ashe.

[DukeDude]

I personally find the grounds matches more fun to watch than Ashe - yeah, at Ashe you'll get bigger names, but the intimacy is not there. Plus, if you're really into tennis you'll know the great history of many of the players on the outside courts and its fun (and cheaper) to watch. If you're just a casual tennis fan, however, I could see paying the premium to watch the premiere players in Ashe.

I really want to get Ashe tickets because I may not get back again and I want to see a 23,700 seat tennis stadium firsthand. Even if I only watch 30 minutes of tennis there, I still feel like I have to do it. I suppose I could do a night session at Ashe then a day session with just a grounds pass.

[DukeDude]

If anyone else wants tickets, they are on sale today on ticketmaster, and they still have some left. I bought them for the first Saturday night session in Ashe at the AmEx presale last Monday, and bought some general admission passes for the Sunday session today.