51 Insider Tips for Attending the U.S. Open
The U.S. Open, starting Aug. 28, is a two-week production that will draw upwards of 700,000 fans. For those planning to attend, here are various tips—culled from previous years with some new ones thrown in. Thanks to more than 100 of you who weighed in with tips earlier months.
Pre-Tournament
• We'll get the icky self-promotion out early. The SI.com tennis page will feature the work of various and sundry colleagues including S.L. Price, Richard Deitsch, Stanley Kay, Jamie Lisanti and yours truly.
• Tennis Channel’s pregame show starts at 8 a.m. ET and—conflicts aside—it’s good fun and crackling television. Then, ESPN will have the matches, first ball through last ball.
• The retractable garage door that is the roof will get all the attention, but take inventory of the various other facilities upgrades, especially the new Grandstand, which is a gem.
• The qualifying event for the U.S. Open is the best value in sports, and not simply because admission is $0.00. It's top-tier tennis featuring catch-a-rising-star prospects and at least a few down-on-their-luck players, whose names will sound familiar to casual fans.
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• As sporting event websites go, USOpen.org is pretty strong. Bookmark it.
• Unless you have a match that day, there's no excuse for dressing like a player when you attend the U.S. Open. You don't wear stirrups to Yankees games and shin guards and cleats to watch Arsenal. Leave the wristbands at home.
• Leave the selfie stick home as well.
• From @pessimistcynic: Check social media and hear announcements on the grounds for autograph signings. Also check for player appearances in Manhattan week before!
• From @T_tennis_tennis: Download the U.S. Open app and check out the order of play the night before to make a game plan of what you'd like to see.
• From Alvaro from Madrid: “To speed through security, put your stuff into a small plastic bag. Also bring a more durable, comfortable bag that you can fold or zipper compactly—keep it out of sight until after the security check…And bring tightly wrapped food (like an overstuffed deli sandwich, so your bag’s not bulky), and a plastic water bottle to refill at fountains.”
Transportation
• Take safest play: the MTA's much-maligned No. 7 train from Times Square, Bryant Park or Grand Central in Manhattan to the Willets Point-CitiField stop. Especially if the Mets play, prepare to stand.
Our preferred alternative: ride the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station. It’s much faster, though trains runs only three or four times an hour, so check the schedule.
(As part of our crowd-sourcing, reader @clarkcomedy notes: You can take a bus to the Open straight from LaGuardia.) At the risk of sounding like a tourist-bureau p.r. flack, you'll be surprised how civil and efficient the trains are. If you insist on private transportation, take an Uber or cab over a car service, which drops you off somewhere near Montauk.
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• Here’s reader Esha Bhandari: For the cycling-inclined, biking to the U.S. Open is an excellent option. If you come up through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, you can park at bike racks outside the Queens Museum, putting you right by the "back" entrance to the tennis (the one that subway riders don't use). Not only is it very pleasant to avoid long lines on the way in, at the end of the day you can walk out, hop on the bike, and avoid the hordes waiting for the subway.
• Many of you wisely suggested filling up your Metrocards before heading out so you avoid the lines at the end of the session.
While at Flushing Meadows
• From @IanKatzTennnis: Don't go on through the main front entrance by the boardwalk. Too crowded. Go around to the left and enter through the side.
• Buy a program and/or a daily draw sheet when you walk in. The schedule of matches is critical for spectator planning, and the program is great changeover reading. The program contains a compendium of the finest tennis writing.
• While there are charging stations on site, bring a Mophie. Unless you’re my kids, in which case you should get off your damn screens.
• We all agree that the USTA sells too many ground passes. But, still, take the grounds pass over reserved seating in Arthur Ashe Stadium, especially during the first week. You'll have the freedom to walk from match to match. You might also want to pick a court early in the day and stake out your terrain. (Trick: take the cheapest Ashe seat, even if you have no intention of entering the stadium. It’s often not much more than a grounds pass and gives you full access. And you’re covered—literally—if it rains.)
• Check out the No. 5 court viewing platform.
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• From @brad_duester: When going from Ashe to Armstrong, walk the back way, not the main way.
• From @mariayealdhall: If you have a Chase card, reserve a spot in the #Chase lounge. AC, snacks and free hat each day. Also great during rain delay.
• Little known fact: most the players—including some stars—practice near the main gate and the miniature golf course. Mosey on over. Last year one of you stumbled upon FabriceSantoro hitting with Mats Wilander.
• Root for any and all qualifiers in the main draw. Winning that first round could be the difference between financing another year on tour and quitting the sport.
• Root for the players who could use it. This year, candidates include, Genie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova (believe it or not), some little known player who looks to be close to tears. Federer and Muguruza can win with or without your vocal support. For these other players, it can make a real difference.
• If you own an American Express card, investigate whether you're entitled to a free radio that enables you to hear the TV commentary. (Aside: Whoever does the AmEx U.S. Open sponsorships gets it. These are consistently creative, fun and feel completely non-intrusive.) If not, bring binoculars. Particularly during changeovers—"I think the trainer is on the court, icing down Granollers’ larynx!"— they can come in handy.
• Complain at least once about the lack of intimacy in Arthur Ashe Stadium. And complain at least twice about the lucky ones in the luxury suites who have prime seats yet fail to show or have their backs turned away from the court as they eat their canapés and knock back heavily marked-up wine.
• Arrive early and spend half an hour or so watching players practice. It's weirdly mesmerizing, and you can learn quite a bit about players while watching them hit balls for 20 minutes.
• Drink a lot of water. While waiting in line at the restroom may not be an ideal way to spend time, it beats dehydration any day. From Beth of Brooklyn: “Bring your own water bottle. Sure you can buy a $6 Evian bottle when you get there but why? There are water fountains all over the site and hydration is important.”
• For those not working, alternative beverages: As @Pschrags encourages you: “Have at least two of those Honey Deuces.”
• Speaking of good habits, wear sunscreen—though bring cream, not aerosol—some of you have told me that a can won’t make it past security.
• Watch the top players in the boys' and girls' singles draw. One day soon they're likely to play on the big stages (or not). Either way it makes for good theater.
• If you walk by a scoring console and see that a match is deep in the fifth set (or third set for women), watch the conclusion, regardless of whether you've heard of either player. It will give you a good sense of just how brutal tennis can be.
• We know. Your fund of funds is shredding it this year. If you fly Delta, the upgrade will come through. You wish your nanny drove, so you didn't have to waste a day going to Maine to pick up Ashley Madison from summer camp. You're important. We get it. But don't use your phone during play, and switch the ringer to vibrate.
• Most of the volunteers are tennis lovers helping the event run smoothly. Likewise, the ushers are just doing their jobs. Same for the security folks. Bear that in mind when they make you wait for a changeover or deny you unused seats in a section closer to the court or insist you check your bag.
• Bring an iPad/book/crossword puzzle/fellow tennis fan to pass the time during changeovers.
• Watch some doubles matches.
• Watch wheelchair tennis. Not out of any sense of obligation, but because it’s terrifically entertaining and filled with the kind of shot-making we all love.
• Have a look at the Tennis Hall of Fame exhibit under Louis Armstrong Stadium. It doesn't compete with a trip to Newport, but it's close.
• Again, hydrate. A small Evian bottle may cost you dearly, so bring your own bottles and fill them up at the dozens of drinking fountains on the grounds.
• Go to the U.S. Open bookstore, which, regrettably, is hidden near the indoor facility.
• Maybe it's desensitization to overpriced ballpark food or New York prices in general, but the food-court fare—once the subject of so much derision—no longer seems so overpriced. The food ranges from passable to quite good. The terrific Sam Sifton cooked this up a few years back. The Indian joint is always my personal favorite. Also, at the Wine Bar near the main fountains, try the burrata—if only because burrata is the single greatest substance known to man.
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• Alternatively, check out some of the restaurants in Flushing's Chinatown. You can walk there or take the No. 7 train one additional stop. Says @veryape: Queens has the best food in the city. On the way back, stop off at Sunnyside or Woodside for authentic everything! And
• @andrewikesports writes: Keep an eye on the sunset behind the NYC skyline from the top of Ashe as the night session gets going.
• From @galloots: If you want great value, go see matches on the Tuesday after Labor Day, everyone is back to work and tickets on Stubhub are less than face value.
• Note the Bud Collins Media Center—and pause a moment to acknowledge the eponymous. And pay homage to the good, hard-working folks inside.
• We’re serious about the sunscreen.
While in Manhattan
If you're staying in Manhattan, take some time for some of these:
• Check out the High Line on the west side, which is just tremendously cool. End your tour at the new Whitney Museum.
• If you’re feeling adventuresome, go to Williamsburg in Brooklyn—especially if you can time it with a trip to Smorgasburg. And if you take the train from Grand Central Station, take a few minutes to walk around the terminal.
• Koreatown in the low 30s, just east of Penn Station, is an easy walk from a midtown hotel, and many of the joints are open 24 hours. Same for the "Curry Hill" Indian restaurants on Lexington in the high 20s.
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• Run the six-mile loop in Central Park or stroll around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.
• As in many other cities, the bikeshare program is a tremendous value and great way to see the town: Citibike.
• Just walk around. It's hard to get lost given Manhattan's grid system, and you're bound to stumble past something interesting.
