In March 2024, the stars aligned for me and I had a work trip in Orlando the week before the Miami Open, so I booked some vacation time and rented a car to drive down to Miami at the conclusion of my work trip. I went for two days of the Miami Open tournament, attending on the Sunday and Monday of the second week to see a mix of second, third, and fourth round play.
About the Miami Open
The Miami Open is the second of two back-to-back hardcourt tournaments hosted in the United States that make up the “Sunshine Double,” following Indian Wells in mid-March. It’s a 1000-level Masters event for both the ATP and WTA, drawing the world’s top players in a 128-player draw that lasts a week and a half. The tournament was previously hosted at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne until 2019, when it moved to Miami Gardens where it is currently hosted at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. A stadium court is built within Hard Rock Stadium, with utilization of the existing stadium seating for one half of the court. Permanent outer courts were built for the tournament over parking lots for the stadium.
Getting There and Where to Stay
I had rented a car since I was driving from Orlando down to Miami, but even if I had only been staying in the Miami area, I probably would have still rented a car. There aren’t really any hotels walkable to where the Miami Open is hosted. I had explored staying in an area that would be accessible to the Brightline rail system, but ultimately it just made more sense to rent a car and purchase a parking pass for the tournament. Parking was right across the street from the stadium and getting in and out was not bad at all traffic-wise.
I stayed in the Miami Lakes area, an easy 15 minute drive from Hard Rock Stadium. This was great for me since I wasn’t there for much sightseeing other than attending the Miami Open and going into downtown Miami on my last day before heading to the airport. But if you do want to experience Miami while attending the Open, the downtown area is still only about a 20-minute drive from the stadium.
Attending the 2024 Miami Open
March in Miami can be hot, and the forecast was in the 80s while I was there, but I was never extremely hot, especially since my stadium seats were on the shady side. With a nice breeze, I even ended up putting a light jacket on at times.
I purchased upper level stadium tickets for the day session in Hard Rock Stadium just because I wanted the center court experience. Lower level tickets didn’t fit my budget, and I’m glad I got to have the experience of being on Stadium Court, but the upper level seats are very far from the action, so you definitely don’t get the same intimacy of being in the action and hearing the sounds of the match. Aside from stadium court being where the blockbuster matches are scheduled, as an events nerd it is also just cool to see the tennis stadium built inside of a football stadium. Another downside is it also takes a bit longer to get up and into the stadium, so it’s not that easy to run out to the other courts in between matches if there are others you want to see – I ended up staying inside the stadium for the whole duration of the matches I got with my ticket.
Some of the highlights I got to see in the stadium included American fan favorites like Coco Gauff, Chris Eubanks, and Madison Keys, and the two players who would go on to win the Open that year – Jannik Sinner and Danielle Collins.
The grounds of the Miami Open outside Hard Rock Stadium are beautiful, too. You get a lot of that Florida feel with plenty of palm trees, a fountain-lined plaza, and Instagram-worthy activations. There’s also a great little turfy area lined with dining options.
It may not be as well-known as the U.S. Open’s Honey Deuce drinks, but the Miami Open has an official cocktail of its own – the Ace Paloma sponsored by Dobel Tequila. So of course I had to give it a try. Very good, and very refreshing!
After my stadium session concluded, I did stay on the grounds and enjoy some of the action on the outer courts. I have two favorite memories from the outer court action I saw. The first was watching the late-night thriller between 14th seed Ugo Humbert and Dominik Koepfer. It was the last match on the second-largest court Grandstand, and went on long after play on Stadium Court had concluded for the night. It went to three sets, with the late-night thinned-out crowd rooting the underdog Koepfer to a victory. Neither players are that well-known unless you’re a tennis superfan like me, but man was it some great tennis and fun to watch in the quiet Florida night.
My other favorite was seeing Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Musetti on the third-largest court, Butch Buccholz Family Court. If you follow tennis, both Ben and Lorenzo have been young rising stars in recent years, and this match was a prime example of that. The stands got so packed they were standing room only, and the energy in there as the Americans rooted for Ben Shelton, who loves to goad and get the crowd behind him, was like nothing I had ever experienced being on such an intimate court. These are the moments a tennis fan lives for!
On my second day at the Open, play on the outer courts ended before play on Stadium Court, but I am never one to leave the grounds until the last ball, so I grabbed some ice cream and sat in the plaza to watch the match on the big screen on the side of the stadium. And boy was I glad I stayed to watch – the world number one Iga Swiatek fell to the 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in a shocking straight-sets loss. I may have still been watching it on a screen, but it’s just not the same when you watch on a screen by yourself in your hotel room!
The Miami Open is a bucket list tournament for a tennis fan. I can’t say it was a favorite out of the tennis tournaments I’ve been to, just because of how disconnected the Stadium Court experience feels, but the rest of the tournament was enjoyable from my perspective. And nothing beats being in sunny Florida when you’re from Philly and coming out of a northeast winter!
C to Shining C 
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