Here's How to Have the Best Time at the U.S. Open: Tips, Tricks and Transportation
The 2023 U.S. Open officially starts Aug. 28 in Queens. It bills itself as the country’s most heavily attended sporting event. Of the 700,000 or so fans who will come, the savvy few will head out this week for the qualies.
Up-close-and-personal viewing of familiar players trying to claw their way back, and future stars. Top-shelf tennis. Thrill of victory, agony of defeat. All for $0.00.
This is one of the foremost tips and hacks for attending the tournament. Here are dozens of others, culled from previous years with some new ones thrown in. Thanks to the hundreds of you who weighed in over these past few years …
• We'll get the icky self-promotion out early. The SI.com tennis page will feature the work of various and sundry colleagues.
• Tennis Channel’s daily U.S. Open live pregame show starts at 9 a.m. ET. Steve Weissman, Chand Rubin, Paul Annacone and I —plus daily drop-ins—will be gabbing each morning before the matches. Conflicts aside and disclosed, it’s good fun and crackling television.
• ESPN is your go-to for match coverage, first ball to last.
• As sporting event websites go, USOpen.org is strong. Bookmark it. Play around with the stats. Not the momentum-based player ratings. And note the practice schedules, which are posted daily.
• @T_tennis_tennis: “Download the U.S. Open app in advance and check out the order of play the night before to make a game plan of what you'd like to see.”
Who to watch and how
• Root for all Ukrainian players.
• Root for any and all players outside the top 100. Winning that first round —and getting the six-figure payday that accompanies reaching Round 2—could be the difference between financing another year on tour and quitting the sport.
• Root for players who are parents. Root for players born in the 1980s. (They grow old; they grow old …) Root for the undersized, the underaged (and undergrads).
• Root for the players who could use it. This year, candidates include former champion Dominic Thiem, serve-and-volley dervish Maxime Cressy and Sonya Kenin (the last American to win a major), and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
• Venus Williams last won this event in 2001. She is playing in ’23. Enough said.
• @Ascharfmind asks: “Perhaps name up-and-comers we should watch on the back courts before they become stars.”
Hmm. Off the top of my head (and adding some fun-to-watch ascending vets) … how about: Mirra Andreeva, Arthur Fils, Max (don’t call me Mel) Purcell, Ben (don’t call me Blake) Shelton and Alycia Parks.
• As always, the program contains a compendium of the finest tennis writing. This year the program is available for order at www.tennisprograms.net.
• Your U.S. Open knockout pool.
• 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. (A few years ago, it could’ve been Coco Gauff.) Adds @meganfernandez: “And watching them play let serves is different, fun—and sometimes heartbreaking.”
• @zootennis adds: “I know you always recommend watching the No. 1 seeds in juniors, but I would add: make time for the finals (on Saturday this year). In just the past [8] years you would have seen [Taylor] Fritz, [Tommy] Paul, [Miomir] Kecmanović, [Félix] Auger-Aliassime, [Lorenzo] Musetti, Kenin, Gauff, [Amanda] Anisimova, Xiyu Wang.”
• If you notice 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.
• The robots calling the lines … they are here to stay.
• Watch wheelchair tennis. Not out of any sense of obligation, but because it’s super awesome—terrifically entertaining tennis and filled with the kind of shotmaking we all love.
• We used to advise buying the grounds pass over the seats in Ashe. No longer. A lousy seat in Ashe—and now Armstrong—is comparable in price, gets you roving privileges and is insurance in case of rain.
• I started in on some ticketing tips, but this page is terrific and will answer all your FAQs.
• @galloots: “If you want great value, go see matches on the Tuesday after Labor Day, everyone back to work and tickets on Stubhub less than face.”
American Coco Gauff is a favorite heading into the U.S. Open after winning the Western & Southern Open.
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK
Transportation
• Take the safest play: the MTA’s much-maligned No. 7 train from the new Hudson Yards, or Times Square, or Bryant Park or Grand Central in Manhattan to the Willets Point–Citi Field stop. Be prepared to stand, especially if the Mets are playing.
• @sufed4ever: “If you are taking the subway, be friendly to other passengers. Struck up a conversation with a doctor, wife and his mom who were fellow U.S. Open attendees and they gave me an extra ticket to one of the suites.”
• Our preferred alternative: Ride the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station or Grand Central. It’s much faster, though trains run only three or four times an hour, so check the schedule. (Grand Central has a low-key strong website BTW.)
• @clarkcomedy notes: “You can take a bus to the Open straight from LaGuardia.” At the risk of sounding like a tourist bureau, 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. (Or where Daniil Medvedev returns serve.)
• Here’s 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.”
• Note that subway MetroCards are no longer needed. You can swipe your phone to get through the turnstiles. (Long Island Railroad, on the other hand, is so old-school it uses a hole puncher for your paper ticket.)
• @morrowtv: “Buy a cheap ticket to a Mets game and catch a few innings during a lull in the action.” [Ed. note: Though if you haven’t seen the Mets in 2023 …]
While at Flushing Meadows
• @iirene_ricci: “Bring a small umbrella for shade during changeovers.”
• Arrive way early. Or fashionably late. But there’s a crush at 11:00 a.m. ET, when matches usually start.
• @IanKatzTennnis: “Don't go in through the main front entrance by the boardwalk. Too crowded. Go around to the left and enter through the side.”
• @Cdhort: “While there are charging stations on-site, bring a Mophie or other charging device.” @ChewyYorkie adds: “If you have a Chase credit card or account, you can get a free portable phone charger. Definitely a must!”
• Get off your damn screens, look up and experience life. You’re at the U.S. Open. You paid for this. Everything else can wait. And speaking of phone etiquette …
• Your fund is crushing it, and the Hamptons were amazing, and your kids loved camp, and your buddy got you these tickets. If you insist on a changeover conversation, keep it down, tiger.
• Check out the Court No. 5 viewing platform.
• @brad_duester: “When going from Ashe to Armstrong, walk the back way, not the main way.”
• @mariayealdhall: “If you have a Chase card, reserve a spot in the Chase lounge. You get AC, snacks & free hat each day. Also great during rain delay.”
• Little-known fact: Most of the players—including some stars—practice near the main gate and the miniature golf course. Mosey on over. Recently, one of you stumbled upon Fabrice Santoro hitting with Mats Wilander.
• And yes: Your eyes are not deceiving you; there is a miniature golf course—and a par-3 with lights—mere yards from the back entrance. You’re welcome.
• 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 nonintrusive.) If not, bring binoculars. Particularly during changeovers—“I think Stefanos’s dad is on his phone”—they can come in handy.
• @scottzabielski: “The free Amex radios are surprisingly awesome. They might not look cool but they make the match so much more interesting. There's nothing like the Armstrong night sessions–so much fun.”
• Complain at least once about the lack of intimacy in Arthur Ashe Stadium and the overselling of grounds passes. 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 scandalously marked-up wine. It’s your inalienable tennis right.
A total of 776,120 fans attended the 2022 U.S. Open.
Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports
Food
• 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.
• Alternatively, @danwolken: “Take the 7 train one stop further from BJK and have lunch in downtown Flushing Chinatown. Some of the best Chinese food in the country. … Says @veryape: “Queens has the best food in the city. On the way back, stop off at Sunnyside or Woodside for authentic everything!”
@Mel1612ancholia: “Go to Astoria for some good Greek food”… A few of you mentioned the Queens beer garden.
@mkopelman: “Main Street Flushing pre or post for great Chinese food. We usually do dumplings.”
@edmcgrogan: “Visit Forest Hills, the Open’s old home. Accessible by subway, train—or even a long walk, from Flushing—it abounds in neighborhood cuisine (Nick’s Pizza [currently closed for repairs], Pahal Zan, Eddie’s Sweet Shop), charming history (West Side Tennis Club, Tudor homes, Station Square) and Queens culture.”
• @steve_weissman: “Get the Pat LaFrieda steak sandwich.”
• @jasongay: “The Momofuku chicken sandwich line is worth the wait.”
• @marclucvero: “Hit @brunosoares82 acai stand @oakberryacai to fuel up.”
• For those not working, alternative beverages: As @Pschrags says goadingly: “Have at least two of those Honey Deuces.” Note, too, that various New York bars—including The Campbell in Grand Central, a personal favorite—serve Honey Deuces during the event.
• @philbyers: “Do not POUND two honey deuces because you're thirsty and hot. You will regret it.”
• @bradmiles33: “Try the Italian Ice on the Boardwalk.”
Other tips
• @andrewikesports writes: “Keep an eye on the sunset behind the NYC skyline—Manhattan-henge, the kids call it—from the top of Ashe as the night session gets going.” As @stu-fraser puts it: “If you’re in the top tier, head up to the back row of Ashe on the west side for a tremendous view of sunset over the city just before the night session begins. One for the tourists perhaps.”
• @tomtebbutt: “If you’re top tier in Ashe Stadium—sit in the up-and-down [end] axis of the court—much better view of play.”
• Note the Bud Collins Media Center—and pause a moment to acknowledge the eponymous. And pay homage to the good, hard-working pool reporters inside. Realize the vile abhorrence of the term “enemy of the people.”
• @liznyny: “Bring an empty plastic bottle to fill up at the water fountains.”
• @glamspintennis: “The water situation is bleak. There used to be one good water fountain with cold tasty water but it’s gone. [In 2021] all the water fountain water was warm with a sedimenty taste. Mentally prepare to spend $$$ on water.” [Ed. note: The USTA responds that there are 48 water fountains on the grounds.]
•@santo2259: “You’re allowed to bring in a plastic water bottle as long as it’s empty, so buy a Gatorade at Penn Station, slug it down on the train ride over, then fill it with water for free all day.”
• Indulge my pet peeve: If association is a large reason to buy products and show loyalty to brands, my spending an extortionate $8 on a bottle of water is grounds for me never to buy that brand again. Wouldn’t reasonably priced—or heaven forfends, free—water on a hot day be the better marketing play here?
@joseinbk: “Bring an electric mini fan!!”
• 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 leotards to the ballet. Leave the wristbands at home, Champ.
• 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 isn’t bulky), and a plastic water bottle to refill at fountains.”
• Speaking of good habits, wear sunscreen—though bring cream, not aerosol, as some of you have told me that a can won’t always make it past security.
• SS: “Feel free to share this, but as it’s a workaround I ain’t posting it on Twitter [now X]: I stuff my pockets with my extra glasses, money, phone, and a small tube of sunblock, and wear my hat (which may come off later). Plus: one of those string bags that go over both shoulders and scrunch up into almost nothing. I enter through the “no bag” line – much, much quicker – and then once inside take out the shoulder bag, etc. Sneaky? Yes. Legit? Kinda. Works? Yup.”
• @likethemovie19: “Do NOT bring those metal/insulated Swell-type bottles, as they will not let you bring them in.”
• @magicjewball: “I bought a cheap chair cushion at Ikea and brought it in my tote. It’s good for the hot benches but also more comfortable.”
We’re serious about the sunscreen.
Enjoy, everyone!
