U.S. Open ticket strategy

[Sojourner]

For those of you who have attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament in recent years, do you have any advice on the best types of tickets to purchase for a 3-day visit? This will be my first time in attendance, and I would love to see the big names such as Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Sharapova, etc. I have already purchased one evening session ticket for the Arthur Ashe stadium court, and I'm considering purchasing another just like that for the following evening. That way, I figure I will get to see many if not most of the biggest names in action. Is that a good strategy, and if so, what kind of ticket should I buy for the 3rd day? I'd like to get as much of the U.S. Open "experience" as possible during my short visit. Any advice would be much appreciated. Also, any other general tips for making the most of my visit would be awesome, too.

 

[Texas Proud]

I only went once... one of my sisters talked me into buying the expensive seats...

Me and a coworker were 3 or 4 rows up behind the player... when they show the camera shot from behind the server you could have seen me on TV... I would highly recommend getting down there at least once... well worth the price as a one off for me... coworker said the same... she had been in the cheap seats before...


Now, my coworker went every year... she said that if you want to see a lot of tennis, go in the early rounds... they have people playing on the outer courts all day long... I do not know how busy they are since we went to quarter finals and not much going on when I went...

 

[MuirWannabe]

I have not yet been myself. But in speaking with others who have been I've been told the best way to go is in the earlier rounds. You can get an all grounds pass that allows you to go to all the outer courts. You can see many matches and catch some of the bigger names in a more intimate setting. I've had similar feelings with other tourneys I have attended such as the BNP Paribas, etc.


Good luck. It should be a great experience.


Muir

 

[Sojourner]

I've been told the best way to go is in the earlier rounds. You can get an all grounds pass that allows you to go to all the outer courts.

The 3 days I'll be there are during the early rounds since it's the first week of the tournament, before the quarter finals. I actually was thinking of getting a grounds pass for my 3rd day.

I would highly recommend getting down there at least once... well worth the price as a one off for me... coworker said the same... she had been in the cheap seats before...

I have been giving this idea of court-side seats some thought, but the going rate for such a ticket is around $400. Not sure I want to pay that much on this trip, especially since I would need to double that (i.e. tickets to two consecutive days) in order to guarantee that I'd see my favorite players.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[TallTim]

I have not yet been myself. But in speaking with others who have been I've been told the best way to go is in the earlier rounds. You can get an all grounds pass that allows you to go to all the outer courts. You can see many matches and catch some of the bigger names in a more intimate setting. I've had similar feelings with other tourneys I have attended such as the BNP Paribas, etc.


Good luck. It should be a great experience.


Muir

+1 to this strategy. It depends IMO on whether you're going as a tennis fan or just to see the top players play as an event/experience.

To the OP, I would say that you maximize the whole US Open experience buying a grounds pass for the day; you can see a lot of tennis and move around. When you buy seats for Ashe, you see just a match or two in there and that's it. I think that may be worth doing once, but personally, not more than that. If you haven't been to the US Open at night, it is certainly an experience!

Two notes of caution (IDK if you're familiar w US Open or NYC):

(1) the night sessions very often start a bit late and run late() - so not unusual to have evening tickets for something that may start at 9 or later and run well past midnight

(2) the National Tennis Center is more or less in no-where, at least as far as NY goes. It's a pretty hefty taxi from Manhattan, and if you're there late at night the subway may be on limited service.

Neither is a reason not to book night sessions, but wise to know in advance; I would add that if you're really just there for the tennis look into staying in Brooklyn or even Queens vs Manhattan

Have fun!

 

[Texas Proud]

The 3 days I'll be there are during the early rounds since it's the first week of the tournament, before the quarter finals. I actually was thinking of getting a grounds pass for my 3rd day.



I have been giving this idea of court-side seats some thought, but the going rate for such a ticket is around $400. Not sure I want to pay that much on this trip, especially since I would need to double that (i.e. tickets to two consecutive days) in order to guarantee that I'd see my favorite players.

Thanks for the suggestions!

It was 15 years ago when I went... I paid less than $200... do not remember the exact amount....

I would NOT suggest all access tickets in the later rounds... there just is not that much tennis to see... you might be able to see some junior, doubles or mixed... but the good matchups are all in one of the two stadiums...

If you have a ticket to Ashe stadium, you also have all access to everything else... I even went to watch a match in the smaller stadium...

 

[zinger1457]

I've never been to the US Open but if it's like a regular tournament the night matches can start and end very late if the day matches run long. I had day tickets (stadium) for the round of 16 at Indian Wells and the day matches didn't finish until 9:30pm.

 

[pb4uski]

I've been a few times. The first time I was in NYC on business and went to one of the early round night matches. Somebody I had heard of (I forget who) playing somebody I had never heard of. I was able to get quite close to the court even though I had a cheapo ticket.... it was late and they didn't care.

The last two times I have gone it was for quarterfinals. We bought the cheapest ticket to Arthur Ashe and had pretty good seats, thought the ushers seemed much more vigilant about making sure you stay in your section and don't sneak down further towards the court than you belong.

We also saw a match in Louis Armstrong stadium and that is an absolutely wonderful place to watch tennis and around the quarters you can usually catch a good match there.

One thing we have learned, is to stay away from the north sections if it is really sunny out as it gets extremely hot. If you can get high up in the south sections of Ashe or Armstrong from mid-afternoon on you'll be in the shade.

 

[Sojourner]

We also saw a match in Louis Armstrong stadium and that is an absolutely wonderful place to watch tennis and around the quarters you can usually catch a good match there.

One thing we have learned, is to stay away from the north sections if it is really sunny out as it gets extremely hot. If you can get high up in the south sections of Ashe or Armstrong from mid-afternoon on you'll be in the shade.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of "insider" advice I was looking for. I may buy a day session ticket to Armstrong for my 3rd day since you've recommended it so highly.