A Tennis Fan’s Guide to Going to the US Open

Going to the US Open at Flushing Meadows?

This page includes links to the best info and and tips that I picked up during my trip there as part of the 2012 fan slam.

Note – Details may have changed since 2012. If any of the info needs updating, I’d love you to send an email and let me know.

The US Open

Qualifying is free entry for the public and a great day out. Read more about it here.

Main Draw: 25 August to 8 September 2014

Official Website: US Open

Twitter: @USOpen

Facebook: US Open Tennis

The US Open Experience

My memory of the US Open is of hot fast tennis watched by hot sweaty fans in a hot vibrant city.

The US Open is unique from the other grand slams due to the sheer scale of event; including the size of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the amount of money changing hands (I’ve heard that the US Open is the most lucrative sporting event in the US).

I’m from Melbourne and I’ve been to plenty of Australian Open sessions during extremely hot conditions but the US Open is an entirely different experience.

• Different because, unlike the AO, there are no air-conditioned areas around the sides of the main courts where you can cool off.
• Different because there are no roofs on the courts that can conveniently be closed slightly to create shaded seats at each end of the court.
• Different because to get there via the subway you’ll have a vikram yoga like heat experience on the platform before boarding the train.

But the heat is a fact so in order to enjoy the experience you need to accept that it’s hot and move on. And if you’re there on a nice day ie not extremely hot, a torrential downpour or an unexpected tornado, be thankful to the weather gods and never forget how good it feels.

In terms of my tips for visitors to the US Open, start with 10 Top Tips for Tennis Fans visiting the US Open and then read more about specific parts of the tournament at the links below.

Getting to the US Open on the subway

I was really impressed by the efficiency of the subway system, especially when large crowds were leaving the grounds at the end of a night match. There were subway trains waiting to fill up with people every few minutes. The connections to other subway lines from Grand Central station didn’t seem too bad either.

Read more in How to get the US Open on the Subway

Also read the US Open’s transportation directions.

What to bring with you to the US Open

The US Open is the strictest grand slam tournament in terms of the size (small), type (no backpacks) and number (one) of bags you can bring in with you. Which also means that the amount of food and drink you can bring in is also limited to what fits in that one bag, and what is considered to be “reasonable refreshment and nourishment”.

Find out what to bring with you in US Open Essentials and read what you can and can’t bring in on the US Open website.

US Open Tickets

Due to the size of Arthur Ashe stadium, tickets to the US Open are relatively easy to get. We bought a package of tickets for every Arthur Ashe Promenade Night Session plus the Men’s semi-finals and the Men’s and Women’s Finals. From memory the total cost was about the same as buying a ticket for the Australian Open Men’s and Women’s Finals plus the two men’s semi-finals. By comparison it was great value.

But in reality, the Arthur Ashe Promenade experience is unlike any other grand slam tournament ticket.

Price isn’t everything!

Next time I go to the US Open I’ll choose quality over quantity. Find out why in What to expect when you have Arthur Ashe Stadium Promenade tickets

For full details of tickets, visit the US Open website.

I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon in an Arthur Ashe stadium suite which I would love to do again some day.

Here are 3 Reasons to Spoil Yourself on a Grand Slam Tennis Tour

Also check out:

• US Open Tickets: What happens when it rains
• Using the US Open ticket exchange to sell tickets.

The New York City Experience

New York City always makes me think of the famous line “Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard”. It’s a busy, bustling, crazy city with endless things to distract you from watching tennis. And as great tennis is, it’s worthwhile letting yourself be distracted while you’re there.

Soak up the complete NYC experience.

Shop

Shop on 5th Avenue. Shop on Canal Street. Shop at the market stalls in the parks. Shop at Wholefoods Market. Shop. Shop. Shop.

Walk

Walk the High Line. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. Walk over the Williamsburg Bridge. Walk in Central Park. Walk through Times Square. Walk around Staten Island. Walk the avenues. Walk. Walk. Walk. And while you’re walking don’t forget to look up.

Eat and Drink

Eat the food that is cheap everywhere (relative to Australia anyway!) and really really good. Eat the best ice-cream ever. Eat the best hamburger ever. Eat the pretzels and hot dogs. Eat the best (in my opinion) gluten free pizza and bagels ever. Eat salads from the salad bars.

Drink the Happy Hour drinks that last all day and night. Drink the “all you can drink brunch” in the East Village on weekends. Drink at the cafe at the top of The Met and watch the sunset over the city. Try loads of different places and different types of foods.

Go sight-seeing

See the Empire State Building. See the Statue of Liberty. See the Manhattan lights at night. See the 9/11 Memorial. See the Broadway Shows. See everything there is to see.

It’s New York City. When you’re not watching tennis shop, walk, eat, drink and see it all.

If you haven’t been to NYC in Summer, you’ll find this article useful: Essential Skills for Enjoying New York in Summer

In terms of sight-seeing, I recommend taking a night cruise around the harbour with Circle Line: Stunning sights of New York by night

For free activities, nothing beats:

• Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
• Walking the High Line
• Enjoying the Art on the streets of New York

Watching the US Open on TV while in New York

The US Open is covered by several different cable channels in the US and it can be hard to figure out what matches are on when. And if you have trouble working the remote control to get to the channels you want to watch, let’s just say you’re not the first one to have that issue!

View the TV Schedule. Even when the US Open is on more than one channel, be prepared that they might be showing the same match.

If you’re booking accommodation and want to watch tennis while you’re not at the grounds, check if they have the right channels available.

A lot of bars and restaurants show the US Open on TV so it shouldn’t be hard to find somewhere to watch the matches.

Regardless of TV coverage, if you have a fast internet connection, the quality of the live stream from the US Open website was excellent last year and hopefully it will be again.

Download useful Apps 

One of my favourite Apps while in New York City was Yelp, which helps you find businesses close to you and has user reviews. It’s not widely used in Australia but as someone on a gluten-free diet I found it invaluable. I just had to punch in gluten-free {insert cafe, bar, restaurant} and it showed me what was close by. Using this I found a place with quite possibly the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever had. I never would have found it without Yelp.

When you’re from a non-tipping country like Australia, the US tipping situation can be quite stressful;

• what’s the right amount, how to work out a tip
• how to not tip on the tax
• how much to tip for different services.

You don’t want to appear to be stingy or short change staff who rely on their tips, but you also don’t want to accidentally way over tip and blow your travel funds un-necessarily.  Read more in Tips on Tipping and Airports and also download the tipping App mentioned in 5 Useful iPhone Apps for visitors to the US Open.

Highlights from the 2012 US Open 

To get more of a feel for the US Open and New York experience, watch this video of my highlights from the 2012 trip. I still love watching it and reliving the memories.

About Grand Slam Gal

I’m Mel aka GrandSlamGal.

I’ve been a tennis fan for most of my life, ever since I was allowed to stay up on a school night in 1987 to watch Pat Cash defeat Ivan Lendl to win Wimbledon. You’re welcome to read more of my tennis story here.

Fourteen years ago I set a goal to attend all four tennis grand slam events the year I turned 40.

In 2012 I achieved that goal.

And what a year it was!

I will be forever grateful to my partner and travelling companion Andrew for looking after the logistics, carrying the bags, making the coffee, taking the photos and so much more.

Thanks also go to the family and friends who we stayed with and spent time with in the UK, London and New York. And more thanks go to my tennis friends on Twitter and Facebook, who shared their grand slam tips and supportive feedback along the way.

Aside from getting the money together and making sure I had flexible work that allowed me to take the necessary time off, successfully completing the “fan slam” took research and planning.

Now that the fan slam is complete, I’ve created a series of e-Books which share the useful tips, info and links that will maximise your fan experience at each tournament. The aim is to save you from spending time doing research that I’ve already done.

Unfortunately other commitments stopped me from creating the US Open e-Companion, so instead I’m sharing this free online guide.

Information on the other Grand Slam Tournaments

For information on the other tournaments, read the Best and Worst of the Tennis Grand Slams which covers a comparison of the grand slam rankings in terms of getting to the venue, access to tickets, the venues and other factors that impact on the fan experience.

While You’re Here, Sign Up for Updates and Let’s Connect on Social Media

I send out articles every week or two during the year and more often during Grand Slam tournaments.

www.twitter.com/grandslamgal
www.facebook.com/grandslamgal

GrandSlamGal on Google+

And I’ve also started a Google+ community for Australian Open Fans which you’re very welcome to join.