This past Labor Day weekend, my dad and I flew out to the great New York City to attend one of the most famous sporting events in the world, the US Open. It was a blistering summer day, but that did not stop the fun and excitement, as I was able to watch the world’s best (and even greatest) tennis players in the world. For 13 hours my dad and I walked the grounds, and sat in the stands at the most exciting tennis venues in the world.
Walking in at 11 AM, the grounds were filled to the brim with plenty of fans from all over the country, and the world. I had never seen so much NYPD in my life all in one place. One thing was for sure, this event was far bigger than I had expected. One thing that I give a ton of credit to the US Open for is making sure that the fan experience is as good as it can be. From the dozens of stands that offered their famous alcoholic drink, “The Honey Deuce,” to the charging stations where you could rent a portable charger for free, it was all designed to make sure that you enjoyed your stay, and boy did I.
Outside of the two primary stadiums being Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis venue in the world, and Louis Armstrong Stadium, fans were allowed to sit in the front row as close as they wanted to the court. Getting there when play started meant that my dad and I were able to sit right behind the players benches in the first row. For it being the first tennis event I’ve ever attended, sitting in the front row felt like winning the lottery on the first try.
All during the afternoon I roamed the grounds going between the second largest stadium, and all of the outer courts and in doing so, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to get pictures with multiple players after their wins. As a tennis fan, meeting players like Jessica Pegula (world number three) and Karolina Pliskova (multiple time grand slam finalist and former world number one) was a moment I’ll never forget.
Moving to the night session, I was able to see the world famous Arthur Ashe stadium for the first time, it might be understating that I was overwhelmed. The magnitude of being in there was a feeling I’ll remember for a very long time. In that session, we were able to watch one of the greatest players of all time, Novak Djokovic, win his fourth round match. The eruption from the crowd when he walked out on court was one of the loudest cheers I have ever heard at a sports event. Later in the evening, we were able to watch the upset of world number one, Iga Swiatek, who was defeated by the 20th seed, Jelena Ostapenko. A note about these players is that they are some of the hardest hitters in the women’s game. Even being as high as we were, you could clearly hear the whip, and crack of the ball every time they hit a forehand or a backhand.
Getting out at midnight was definitely the trickiest part. A piece of information that my dad learned very well, is that you will want to have an Uber ready to go by the time you leave. My dad and I had to wait for about an hour with close to a thousand others, all waiting for an Uber. The chaos only ensued more considering everyone was from different countries, so to say that it got messy is an understatement. Getting back to our hotel at 2 AM and being back at the airport by five is something that wasn’t exactly the most fun part of the trip.
If given the opportunity, absolutely attend this tournament one day. To see New York City become so invested in this tournament and all the positive fan experiences that I had, if you want an unforgettable experience, go see this tournament one day. Who knows, you might even meet someone famous.
