My mom and I recently took a trip to The Big Apple (to celebrate my 26th birthday) and we were able to cross off one of our bucket list activities – the US Open. This post will focus on that aspect of our trip for anyone else who wants to add and then remove the Open from their bucket list. This year was a record breaking year for the US Open and it makes sense why that would be the case. Currently, women’s Tennis has a good amount of high ranking American players. To name a few, you have: Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Taylor Townsend, Catherine McNally, Venus Williams, Cori Gauff, and last but definitely not least Serena Williams. Although Naomi Osaka represents Japan, she’s definitely more American bred. Men’s tennis is playing catch up right now, but there are still some sensational men to watch. To say the least, my one day at the open exposed me to an exciting atmosphere that I plan to attend again sooner rather than later!!
I only plan on walking you through the nitty gritty: the location of the US Open, getting to the US Open, and getting into the US Open.
The US Open is located in Flushing Meadows, which is located in Queens, NY. It is located right off of the 7 (purple) subway line and sits across from Citi Field, where the NY Mets play. You obviously have the option of taking a Lyft/Uber/Taxi to get there, but depending on where you are located, it could cost you anywhere from $30-50. Brooklyn is nowhere near so we would have paid approximately $50+ for a one-way trip. After doing a cost-benefit analysis, we chose to take the subway (true New Yorker way of life). Regardless of where you are coming from in NY, you’ll end up on the 7 line heading towards Flushing Meadows and your stop is the second to last (Mets-Willets). The walk from the subway to the US Open grounds is less than 5 minutes and it practically lets you off in front of where you need to go.
We opted out of purchasing our tickets in advance and it turned out to be much more beneficial to us the first day. It didn’t work out the second day since Serena and Roger were both playing the day sessions at Arthur Ashe. Tickets sold out almost immediately and even when we tried to buy them online, it was a fail. By the time we got there the next day, everything was sold out – EVERYTHING. You have multiple ticket options and I will explain them in detail below:
In 1956 Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title. She was born on August 25th and shares the same birthday as me.
US Open Grounds Tickets
The grounds admission tickets are on a first come, first serve basis and they really get you a great bang for your buck. If you’re interested in just being on the grounds and watching some good tennis, this is going to be the ticket for you. Cases where this wouldn’t be the ticket for you would be if: (1) you don’t want to spend a lot of money, (2) if you aren’t interested in seeing any special players who are playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong, and/or the Grandstand (3) you want to watch big name players all day. These tickets are first come, first serve into all courts except Arthur Ashe stadium. In regards to Louis Armstrong and Grandstand, you will only have access if there are unseated tickets left.
Day & Evening Session Tickets
Anyone with a day session ticket must enter the grounds before 6:00pm and can enter the grounds as early as 9:30am. Alternatively, anyone with an evening session ticket cannot enter the grounds before 6:00pm. You’ll have multiple ticket options when purchasing tickets for either the day or evening session. Those options are: (1) grounds admission, (2) Grandstand Stadium, (3) Louis Armstrong Stadium, and (4) Arthur Ashe Stadium. Regardless of what ticket you purchase you will have access to all of the field and practice courts. The practice courts are good if you can’t get into a ticketed stadium. They still allow you to see some of your favorites while they get it in.
We watched two matches at Louis Armstrong stadium, but were most interested in seeing just one; Naomi Osaka versus Magda Linette. To my surprise both Colin Kaepernick and Kobe Bean Bryant were there and I don’t know if I watched them or the match more. Disclaimer: I absolutely love Kobe (always have) and highly appreciate his contributions to the game of basketball. Colin, too, is someone that I have come to love due to his bravery and continued fight against police brutality and racism against African-Americans.
Outside of the big match at Louis Armstrong stadium we got to watch Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, and Rafael Nadal practice. We also got to watch some interesting matches between really popular tennis players that I do not know at all, but everyone else did (including my mother). There was also a fan experience and other little activities to do on the grounds so there was plenty to keep you entertained. Before leaving we watched Taylor Townsend defeat Simona Halep, the woman who defeated Serena Williams at Wimbledon this year for her first title.
As stated earlier, the following day ALL tickets were sold out so we used it as an opportunity to explore NYC. It wasn’t in the original plan, but we are good at improvising (we also didn’t have a choice). The remainder of our trip details will be in a forthcoming post titled NYC part II. Do I recommend visiting the US Open one day? YES! Do I recommend visiting the US Open soon? YES! I can feel a Serena Williams retirement upon us. However, the future of tennis is looking super promising!
