Around 10 a.m. on Labor Day, the No. 7 train pulled into the Mets–Willets Point station in Flushing Meadows, Queens. A few dozen passengers poured out of each car, racing across the rickety boardwalk. We were all there to watch tennis, one of the world’s greatest live sports. In my opinion, it’s the most auditory of all: the thump of the ball against the racket, the squeak of the shoes, the growls.
Okay, maybe not a groan.
The US Open adds to that party feel with a roar of approval from the crowd filling the court. The 2024 edition of the tournament is on track to break attendance records and reach a benchmark five years in the making. Lew Sherr, The US Open had set a goal of attracting more than a million fans to the event in 2019, said the CEO and general manager of the United States Tennis Association. “I remember going into meetings and there were people who were giggling,” he recalled.
That goal seemed more achievable after last year’s tournament, when attendance over three weeks topped 950,000 for the first time. On Monday, as we sat in a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sherr told me the goal was within sight. “We’ll surpass a million fans this year,” he said.
Fans at the 2024 US Open, September 3, 2024.Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images.
Fans have always been the lifeblood of the US Open, helping to create the festival atmosphere that sets it apart from other competitions. Celebrities have long flocked to Queens for the event, bringing a bit of glitz worthy of the host city. “We take the fact that we’re in New York City very seriously,” he said. Nicole Kankam, USTA’s director of tennis, marketing and entertainment. This year’s Open attracts the likes of Hugh Jackman, Alicia Keys, And Stephen Colbert, along with two members of tennis royalty—Serena Williams And Roger Federer—who returned to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the first time since they retired two years ago. Billie Jean King of course was also present and received enthusiastic cheers from the audience when she appeared on the stadium’s big screen.
But this year’s edition of the US Open looks bigger and more like a spectacle. Fan Week, which includes appearances by a host of tennis legends and a performance by Dierks Bentley, has seen a 37% increase in attendance over last year. Through Monday, the qualifying rounds and the first week of the main draw had drawn about 795,000 fans, a USTA spokesman said.
For the USTA, the nonprofit that puts on the tournament, the drive to get more people through the gates is also designed to get more players on the court. It’s about spreading tennis, and the US Open serves as a pulpit for the gospel. Sherr says the hope isn’t simply to turn people into fans, ticket buyers, and room holders. “For us, the ultimate goal is to get people to want to play.”
Of course, not everyone is enjoying the crowds. “The US Open is busier than ever,” one headline on New York Times this week. “Some fans are not happy about that.”
I don’t feel that bad when I’m in a crowd on Monday. I feel Jessica Pegula And Daniil Medvedev each advanced to the quarterfinals after straight wins at Ashe. As the day’s play ended, thousands of people poured out of the venue and into the plaza at the complex. Lines formed at every concession stand, except for the ones that only sold bottled water. At times, it felt like a music festival—albeit with more Prada. The US Open is a magnet for luxury and fashion, and for high-end brands like Rolex and Ralph Lauren. “We’re very careful about partnering with high-end brand sponsors,” Kankam said.
Sherr acknowledges that the US Open is a “luxury event” but prefers the somewhat contradictory label of “accessible luxury event.” “There are still $31 tickets for the US Open that could be sold for a lot more if we wanted to,” he said. “We want to make sure that people can come here.”
Kankam tells me that the most recent data indicates that half of US Open attendance comes from the tri-state area. For fans in New York and elsewhere, attending the tournament has become a status symbol. In recent weeks, social media has been flooded with selfies of fans posing with the Honey Deuce, the US Open’s signature cocktail (brought to you by Grey Goose vodka), which is expected to generate $10 million in sales this year.
