NEW YORK — At some point in the past few years, the U.S. Open has joined the Masters and the Kentucky Derby in the elite list of sporting events that many Americans, whether they care about the sport or not, want to cross off their bucket list.
In medieval times, this was perhaps necessary. As long as the tournament has been here at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, it’s been as much about the sensual festival off the courts as the tennis itself.
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Everything here is designed to catch the eye. From the red carpet area where the celebrities arrive to the luxury brands that have set up stores around the perimeter of the exhibition halls to the honey pink color of the Deuce – the tournament’s signature cocktail – everything is optimized to signify that you are part of an exclusive experience that transcends the mundane, even the old acts of watching sports events to watch the games.
And it worked.
What was once a New York-coded event – Wall Street types of corporates and guests filled the expensive seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium, big-hearted locals drinking late into the night and creating a very active atmosphere in tennis – has become a platform to fill your Instagram feed with pictures of your life, you can’t come here.
“Every Slam has its own identity, and the US Open has always been a great show at the Grand Slam,” said Madison Keys, who is playing here for the 15th time. “You see a lot more there, like an influx.”
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For its part, the US Open is basing itself on its newly discovered cultural treasure. He created a separate document for content creators in hopes of marketing the experience of watching a tennis tournament to a younger, broader demographic. Craig Tiley, who was hired by Tennis Australia to run the US Tennis Association earlier this year, said he considered becoming “the Disneyland of tennis”.
But marketers straying from the core tennis audience — and the USTA pursuing every dollar out of this event — began to emerge as a hot topic.
In the days leading up to the event, ticket prices on the secondary market were running at more than $300 for reasons that sold for $65. Fan Week, which takes place roughly a week before the draw and offers free access to the grounds, has become so big that you now have to register for a pass to avoid drowning. During the first two days of the main tour, it was common to see long lines of people entering the outer halls, where seating is first-come, first-served. Even if you can get in the door, there’s no break in the captious capitalism of concession stands where you’ll pay $30 for a Carnegie Deli-style hot pastrami sandwich, $23 for a honey Deuce and $42 for a glass of Moët & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rosé.
For older fans who remember the simpler times in this tournament, they might recall Yogi Berra’s classic line about Ruggeri’s restaurant in St. Louis: “No one goes there anymore – it’s too crowded.” But in fact the opposite is true. Demand continues to spike, and there seems to be no limit to how much money the USTA can squeeze out of these three weeks, even if fans endure a longer line or two and reach deeper into their pockets through the gates.
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“I think it’s a fun thing, I guess you could say, because there’s an insatiable appetite to come out to Flushing and see all the opportunities we have for the fans,” Tiley said. “One of the things we need to be very aware of is how well we’re doing in the balance. It’s going to be something that we continue to do to stay on top. We’re not one of those events that just want to pack for the sake of pay.”
As the US Open continues down this path, however, there will be increased scrutiny about whether the program has become out of step with its ambitions.
On Monday, the USTA announced a “groundbreaking move” with Kalshi being the first “official market prediction” at the US Open, which is an odd prospect in a sport where players receive massive amounts of online abuse from gamblers and the competition has long been a long-standing problem at the game’s lower levels.
Meanwhile, the tournament is being played in the middle of a two-year, $800 million renovation of Arthur Ashe Stadium, which goes into additional premium (ie more expensive) seating and luxury rather than access to the common fan base.
Crowds of fans arrive at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for Day 2 of the 2016 US Open.
(Brian Friedman via Getty Images)
All this thanks to a non-profit organization whose mission statement is “Growing tennis to make healthier people and communities everywhere.”
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In many ways, the completion of the Ashes renewal will bring the US Open full circle. When the tournament moved in 1978 from the small but elite West Tennis Club on the other side of Queens to this new public facility with a huge stadium, it brought tennis from American soil to the masses for the first time in club culture.
Now, like the other premium sports experiences in this region: Unspeakable to most, more popular than ever and in the last stage of players to market themselves and their sponsors.
“Even if you’re not a tennis fan, quote-unquote, people know about the US Open,” said three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Taylor Townsend, who is using the tournament to debut custom outfits designed by celebrity stylists. “I think there’s a super intersection of culture and sports across the board and we’re in a fun and entertaining time. I’m honored to be someone who’s promoting culture, inspiring people, carrying the torch for representation, and having a completely different brand of identity than anyone else out here and doing things in a unique way. So the Open race gives me a bridge to be able to do that.”
All of this, of course, is great for the players who see their faces plastered on billboards all over New York, and the city’s elite mix of various sponsor events in the week leading up to the tournament. Also, the prize money this year will be a record $108 million, with $5.5 million going to individual men and women. Even a first-round loss on the principal draw is worth $140,000.
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The tournament has signed many financial winners including the USTA, which makes 90 percent of its annual revenue (more than $600 million) from the event. But the tournament has changed in ways that seem hard to turn back the clock.
In response to the high-priced ticket scandal, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani last week negotiated a deal to sell 1,000 tickets at $100 each to New Yorkers only through an online lottery. More than 300,000 people have registered in one port of hope.
As much as accessibility is a worthy goal, it cannot be designed to satisfy everyone. Supply what is needed. At the same time, the rip-off of the secondary ticket market to the point where it costs more than $300 to get in the gate feels inconsistent with the mission of the organization whose goal is supposed to be growing interest in tennis.
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“One thing that is at stake for us as an event is that we want the kids to be able to experience, is the sense or desire to become a player in the future to see the players of today,” said Tiley. “We need to find ways to make it affordable, and most importantly accessible. The US Open, as a sports and entertainment event, is up there, No. 1 or No. 2 in the United States and potentially globally, and that demand is something we need to balance with making sure kids have access.”
That will become more and more difficult if the tournament and the influence of its host continues to make this bucket list a test of many people. Contrast that with the Masters, who (for the most part) have chosen to reverse their vibe, and regulate their ticket prices by lottery, strictly prohibiting resales.
It’s great for those who are lucky enough to get tickets. It’s a pain for those who apply for the lottery every year and get turned off from time to time, even if they have a chance to participate.
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Is an experience that can’t be purchased on the secondary market better than an event like this where someone can buy it on the street? That’s in the eye of the beholder (or, more to the point, the ticket holder). But no matter the price or the inconvenience, people can’t get enough. If there is a way that people will pay to see Grand Slam tennis, the US Open has not yet rubbed off against it.
“Every day I come here, I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s pretty crazy,'” 46-seed Alex Michelsen said. “There are so many, but I love it.”