U.S. Open Tennis Tournament
Where?
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Meridian Road at Grand Central Parkway
Queens, NY 11368
When?
Two weeks every year in August and September, around Labor Day.
Significance:
The United States Open tennis tournament serves as the fourth and final event of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Five championships are on the line, including men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. There are also tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. With a history going back to1881 at the Newport (Rhode Island) Casino, the U.S. Open started as a men’s singles and doubles tournament. Today, 650,000 fans crowd the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to get a glimpse of their favorite tennis player, if not a little history. Stars are born, as are future millionaires. U.S. Open prize money is over $20 million dollars—a far cry from the $100,000 purse in 1968.
Who attends?
Many hardcore New York tennis fans and the country club set come together to see the best in professional tennis. The casually dressed join the more formally attired and cheer on their favorite player. Fans can even get a glimpse of tennis legends of the past, including the namesake of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
How to get there?
Driving is not a wise option due in part to the proximity of the Tennis Center to Citi Field where the Mets play. Better options are public transportation and shuttle buses that usually run from parking lots at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. New Yorkers will tell you that the best option is the #7 MTA Subway train, which runs all the way from Times Square and Grand Central Station in Manhattan. It operates on an expanded schedule during the U.S. Open, so waiting to catch a ride back to Manhattan should not be an issue. Another great option from Manhattan is to catch the Long Island Rail Road out to the Tennis Center in Flushing.
Tickets:
For primary ticket access information, consider: usopen.org or usta.com.
Ticketmaster locations and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office make tickets available as well. The best seats go to Full Series Ticket Subscription holders who have the opportunity to upgrade their seats through a series of annual renewals. For quality seating you should look at the secondary market as your best option.
For secondary ticket access, consider:
GoTickets, Inc.
2345 Waukegan Road, Suite 140
Bannockburn, IL 60015-1552
Toll-Free: 1-800-775-1617
Fax: (919) 481-9101
E-mail: sales[at]gotickets.com
Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of the largest tennis stadiums around. I definitely recommend sitting only in the courtside, loge, and low rows of the upper promenade.
Accommodations:
The first three hotel selections are to be considered if you’re interested in staying close to the center in Queens. New York City hotel options are also listed.
The Crowne Plaza at LaGuardia
104-04 Ditmars Boulevard
East Elmhurst, NY 11369
Phone: (718) 457-6300
Fax: (718) 899-9768
Note: The Crowne Plaza is located two blocks from LaGuardia Airport and is mere minutes from the U.S. National Tennis Center. A nice option if you want to get to the event and then get home.
The LaGuardia Marriott
102-05 Ditmars Boulevard
East Elmhurst, NY 11369
Phone: (718) 565-8900
Fax: (718) 898-4955
Toll-Free: 1-800-228-9210
Note: No other hotel in Queens, NY, compares to the New York LaGuardia Marriott. This is a good bet if you’re planning on staying close to the tennis center.
Sheraton LaGuardia
135-20 39th Avenue
Flushing, NY 11354
Phone: (718) 460-6666
Fax: (718) 445-2615
Note: Enjoy a warm welcome and a distinctly Asian flair at the beautiful Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel. Located in Chinatown, Queens. The hotel is just three miles away from the LaGuardia airport, accessible by an airport shuttle. A quick stroll over to the U.S. Open.
The Waldorf Astoria
301 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022-6897
Reservations: 1-800-925-3673
Telephone: (212) 355-3000
Guest Fax: (212) 872-7272
Note: Since 1893, this hotel has epitomized the quintessential luxury hotel experience. The hotel tends to get a large tennis crowd during the Open.
Grand Hyatt on 42nd Street
109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 883-1234
Fax: (212) 697-3772
Note: Right next to Grand Central Station for easy access to the #7 subway line out to Flushing Meadows.
On-Site Hospitality:
Note that Aces and a few other restaurants require a courtside ticket or luxury suite ticket to enter. Check the official U.S. Open website for up-to-date information.
Aces: Famed chef Ed Brown of The Sea
Grill at Rockefeller Center provides flavorful dishes in a beautiful facility with an elegant wine bar. It is considered the ultimate in stadium dining experiences. Specialty items include Plateau Royale, the Ultimate Seafood Platter, and Black Angus Filet Mignon. Private dining events include samples of wine and menu items.
Champions Bar & Grill: A traditional clubhouse atmosphere with a contemporary setting. Steaks, chops, seafood, and salads are offered throughout the day and evening. Specialty items include a Gourmet Appetizer Platter, hand-selected Angus beef, and Coldwater Hardshell Lobster. Visit them for happy hour and watch the U.S. Open events unfold on one of the many televisions.
U.S. Open Club: Subscription Series ticket (for a nominal entrance fee) and Silver Loge Box seat holders (part of their package) can enjoy a grand buffet of American cuisine throughout the day and evening. Specialty items include Prime Rib, Rotisserie Chicken, BBQ Brisket, and Summer Berries with Whipped Cream.
Patio Café: All ticket holders can enjoy the outdoor café offering seasonal sandwiches and salads. Specialty items include Spicy Thai Chicken Wings with Pineapple, Steakhouse Cheeseburger, and Bittersweet Chocolate Layer Cake.
Mojito Restaurant & Bar: A 1950’s Havana-style tropical oasis awaits those who visit the Mojito. Specialty items include Chicken Picadillo, BBQ Pork Bocaditos, Coconut Caramel Flan, and, of course Mojitos, Sangrias, Margaritas, and Daiquiris.
Heineken Red Star Café: A more traditional sports bar offering snacks, specialty beers, and frozen cocktails.
U.S. Open Food Village: Regional cuisineand specialty items are provided by Bakery Café, Barilla’s Pasta, Pizza & Salad Kitchen, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, Drop Shot Cocktails, Franks and Fries, Fresca Mexicana, Fulton Seafood
Exchange, Glatt Kosher Stand, Java Court, NY Deli, Savory & Sweet Crepes, and Sushi Court.
Travel Packages:
If you are going to travel to this event, I would recommend using a reliable company to work with you on making the necessary arrangements. The suppliers listed in this book have solid references and are by far the most trusted in the business. Below are some of the organizations to try for this Top 100 Must See Sporting Event.
Premiere Corporate Events
14 Penn Plaza, Suite 925
New York, NY 10122
Phone: (212) 695-9480
Fax: (212) 564-8098
Toll-Free: 1-877-621-5243
E-mail: requests{at}tseworld.com
Premiere Sports Travel
201 Shannon Oaks Circle, Suite 205
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 481-9511
Fax: (919) 481-1337
Toll-Free: 1-800-924-9993
E-mail: sales[at]sportstravel.com
Dining:
Il Toscano
42-05 235th Street
Flushing, NY 11363-1526
Phone: (718) 631-0300
Fax: (718) 225-5223
Note: Great Northern Italian cuisine in Queens. Il Toscano opened its doors in 1985and their consistency of great food has kept them as one of Queens’s favorite Italian Restaurants. They offer 180 wines from around the world.
La Baraka Restaurant
25509 Northern Boulevard
Little Neck, NY 11362
Phone: (718) 428-1461
Note: La Baraka restaurant gathered foodies’ interest by being one of the first in the ’70s to introduce couscous, the grainy semolina essential to North Africa.
Buccaneer Diner
9301 Astoria Boulevard
Flushing, NY 11369
Phone: (718) 429-5188
Note: The Buccaneer Diner is a great place to grab a quick meal at any time, as they are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The Parkside Restaurant
107-01 Corona Avenue
Flushing, NY 11368
Phone: (718) 271-9871
Fax: (718) 271-2454
Note: This place is perennially booked, with wait times for walk-ins often topping an hour, as befits a destination Italian landmark in the heart of Corona. Check out the wicker-filled greenhouse dining area, complete with name plaques citing fans like Jackie Collins and former Met and Yankee Lee Mazzilli.
Michael Jordan’s The Steak House
Located inside Grand Central Terminal
23 Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 655-2300
Fax: (21) 655-4915
Note: A better slab of New York strip sirloin would be hard to find. A perfect meal inside Grand Central before heading out to the matches.
Airports:
John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK)
JFK Airport
Jamaica, NY 11430
Phone: (718) 244-4444
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Ditmars Boulevard and 94th Street
Flushing, NY 11371
Phone: (718) 533-3400
Sports Travel Insider’s Edge:
Best way to watch the action:
While you will pay a premium price, the Arthur Ashe Stadium reserved tickets are the only tickets that allow access to the main stadium court and all other side courts, except for Louis Armstrong Stadium. These seats are especially beneficial if you want to see a certain match being played at center court. A grounds pass will not suffice. Make sure you stay away from the top tier Promenade seats in Arthur Ashe unless you can purchase lower rows in this section. The seats at the top of the Promenade are not very good for viewing tennis. Courtside and Loge seats are the way to go inside the stadium.
Best place to get up close:
The early sessions are your best bet to see some great tennis up close. Score yourself a grounds pass for the first few sessions and walk the Disneyland-like grounds. Open seating is available on the outer courts and you can literally sit several feet away from the court and take in the best tennis in the world. If you love tennis, this is the best way to go.
Best travel tip:
While there is not a formal dress code, old traditions live on with country club attire preferred. However, leave your fancy purse at home if you want to avoid long security lines. And don’t forget to warm up your voice. Unlike other tennis tournaments, this one is in New York and the local fans loudly encourage or heckle the players. South Gate entry is best as morning lines fill the East Gate. While you’re in town, check out a Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, or Brooklyn Cyclones game. New York is immersed in sports at this time of year. And of course, it would not be a true trip to New York if you did not attend a Broadway show.
Notable Quotes:
“You know, you can just feed off the energy. It’s a show. You know, you’re just pushing each other. It’s a competitive environment. When you feel like both people are playing up to their abilities. Obviously the crowd. You walk out there, you’re part of a very small percentage of people who can go out there and hear someone cheer for them, compete on that stage with that amount of hype. So I think, like I said, I’d have to be totally out of touch not to realize that and appreciate it.”—Andy Roddick, professional tennis player
“I realize actually what kind of a big-time event this is, you know, with 24,000 people in the stadium, the city. Just the difficulty to win here. I wasn’t aware of it in the very beginning when I came on tour really. For me, the U.S. Open is the second biggest one we have on tour. To have won those two the most times, it’s just incredible for me.”—Roger Federer, four-time U.S. Open champion
Relevant Websites:
usta.com
nycvisit.com
Robert Tuchman is the Sports Editor for Wandering Educators. This
is an excerpt from his book, 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live.
Feature photo courtesy USOpen
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
NEW YORK - AUGUST 26: Serena Williams of the United States returns a shot against Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine during Day 2 of the 2008 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 26, 2008 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.