A myth persists about the US Open that you can only get tickets way in advance, for tens of thousands of dollars, and only if you are affiliated with some large corporation.
None of those things are true, but the persistence of that falsehood keeps thousands of tennis fans from venturing onto the Fairgrounds to come enjoy great tennis every year.
Tickets for the Men’s and Women’s Finals are pricy, but you can enjoy yourself at the Open even if you don’t want to spend a fortune and even if you aren’t BFFs with the CEO of American Express.
You can find tickets on all of the major resale hubs, from Ticketmaster to StubHub to anything you can think of. There are just a couple of nuances you’ll want to know about before you invest.
Each day, the Open is divided into two sessions, afternoon and evening, with the former starting at 11 am and the latter at 7 pm.
Most years, you are likely to see at least one major star on the main court, the Arthur Ashe, but this isn’t most years.
Pretty much everyone you’ve ever heard of, with the exception of Novak Djokovic, have withdrawn, due to injury or old age.
We’re talking Federer, Nadal, the Williams sisters, Dominic Thiem, who won last year, and a bunch of others.
So as long as you aren’t going to see those folks, you can come to the US Open and see great tennis on the courts surrounding Arthur Ashe, and pay a heck of a lot less.
According to P.J. Simmons, whose roadto45tennis.com is considered the Rosetta Stone for understanding the nuances of attending the Open, you’ve got choices.
You can buy a seat in Ashe, but you’ll spend a lot and you won’t see better tennis than you would on the surrounding courts.
You can buy a Grounds Pass, which will let you see tennis all day long. But according to Simmons, first check the price of Grandstand and Louis Armstrong seats. These will get you close to the action at the second and third-most important courts at the open, and allow you to see matches anywhere but Ashe.
Frequently, you can find Grandstand and Louis Armstrong tickets for less than the cost of a Grounds Pass, and then you’ve got those great seats to boot.
Unless you’re a masochist, take the Number 7 subway line from Times Square or Grand Central Station or the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station. Driving here is not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve got an hour or two to spare in snail-like, never-ending traffic, enjoy.
The short of it is that tons of great tennis awaits, and you might just be looking at the stars of the future. With the exception of Djokovic, the other stars who have dominated for the last fifteen years may have played their last matches.
So it’s time for a new generation of stars to take over, and a new generation of fans to watch them.
Including yourself.