Attending the US Open in New York City

It’s been quite a while since I’ve traveled! Having had more time at home to focus on my hobbies and interests, I’ve watched and played a lot of tennis over the past year and a half, and with things starting to feel a bit safer this summer I decided it was time to carry out my dream of attending the US Open in New York City.

I stayed in the neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens, about a 20-minute subway ride on the 7 line to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The 7 line runs beyond Long Island City all the way into midtown Manhattan, so it’s convenient if you stay elsewhere in NYC. It’s an affordable and easy way to get to the grounds and drops you right at the entrance. While it runs less frequently after midnight, there are trains all throughout the night so you don’t have to worry about getting back to your hotel after those long late night matches either!

I bought tickets for day sessions in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the Thursday and Friday of the first week of play, which allowed me to see 2nd and 3rd round matches of a bunch of top players like Ashleigh Barty, Alexander Zverev, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka. And of course, the highlight of my time in Ashe Stadium: the five-set thriller match in which 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz upset world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas, dubbed by fans and commentators as “the match of the year.”

The biggest matches like Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka were on Ashe during the night session, which requires a separate ticket so I didn’t see them. With just a ticket for night sessions, you aren’t able to enter the grounds until about 6pm, but with day session tickets you can stay on the grounds through the night sessions. Being someone who can’t afford both, to me it made more sense to get day session tickets in order to see the most tennis.

Since I was there during the first week of play, there was still plenty of tennis going on on other courts when my session in Arthur Ashe Stadium was done, and I enjoyed hopping around to some of the other courts to see players I liked, including Matteo Berrettini and Gael Monfils. Arthur Ashe Stadium is the only court that requires a specific ticket. Louis Armstrong and Grandstand both have ticketed seats in their lower levels, but general admission in the upper levels, so you can still see some great matches even if you only have a grounds pass.

In the evenings there were some notable night session matches going on in Louis Armstrong Stadium that I got to see, including Canadian stars Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov. On Friday night I enjoyed a lengthy five-set win by Felix Auger-Aliassime followed by the always entertaining hard-hitter Aryna Sabalenka, whose match went until 1:15am! If you’d rather see what’s going on in Ashe but don’t have a night session ticket, the plaza outside the stadium has big screens and a lively atmosphere in the evenings – grab a drink and pull up a seat!

One thing to pad your budget for when attending the US Open is food and drink, especially if you are going to be on the grounds all day, because the food can be pricey. The cheapest meal that I found was $11 for a NY-style Italian sausage (just the sausage – no fries or drink included). Aside from dinnertime when the grounds get crowded from the crossover between the day and night sessions, the lines for food were never too long. If you’re in Ashe or Armstrong, there are concessions in the stadiums which can be less crowded than the Food Village. And luckily you are allowed to bring some light snacks onto the grounds, as well as a bottle for water (as long as it’s not glass) that you can fill at one of the many water stations all over the grounds.

I’m not much of a vodka drinker so I did not partake in the Honey Deuce – the US Open’s signature Grey Goose cocktail served in a commemorative souvenir glass, but I did get a souvenir cup from a soda that I purchased (much cheaper!). For other souvenirs there are plenty of shopping options on the grounds for official US Open apparel and other branded gear. I picked up a US Open visor and a half-zip long sleeve shirt while I was there – inspirational gear for my matches!

I had an incredible time and it was even a little emotional (okay, a lot) for me finally being on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that I’ve been seeing on TV since I was a little girl. And even though Rafa, Roger, and Serena weren’t there this year, I got to see so many of my newer favorite players and some incredible tennis. For a tennis fanatic, there is just nothing in this world like watching live tennis at the US Open.

Congrats to the 2021 champions Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev!