NOTE: My apologies if this thread is in the wrong location; moderators should feel free to move it if it is more appropriately located somewhere else on this forum
Despite being severely bummed about Novak Djokovic falling short in the French Open final, I've been thinking about tennis in a more positive way for much of the day today because I'm thinking about what tickets I'll buy for the U.S. Open. I attended the U.S. Open for the first time last year on the Thursday of the first week (2nd round play) as part of a long, single day trip from/to Washington, DC, and even though I paid more than I would have liked (I think about $180 for a loge/2nd level baseline seat in Ashe Stadium; at least I got a good seat for my money), I had a great, great time - I saw a Djokovic (the primary reason I bought an Ashe seat rather than a grounds pass), Serena (just part of a set), Ivanovic (who lost), Jo-Willie (first set only), Stosur (who lost; I had to stand behind some people to watch the end of her match), I think Verdasco (who lost), Raonic (his match was the only match I could get into during the last 45 minutes I was there LOL), and a real highlight of Kyrgios and Coric playing separate matches on adjacent courts at the same time (plus I saw Andy Murray and John McEnroe on the practice courts during breaks in the action in the Kyrgios and Coric matches). I'm looking forward to going again this year, but this time I want to go for multiple days, probably over Labor Day (middle) weekend so I can see the 3rd and 4th rounds. (With the Slams, the 3rd and 4th rounds IMO are very good because you start seeing better matches but there are still a lot of matches to watch, particularly in the 3rd round.) I assume some people on here have attended the U.S. Open middle weekend before, so I wanted to ask some questions:
1) Is it worth it to buy a multi-day pass directly from the U.S. Open/USTA, despite the fact the Ashe seats offered are terrible (up in the very high promenade/3rd level), or should I try to buy say individual grounds passes or possibly Armstrong passes for those days (Friday 9/4 through Monday 9/7) instead? I'm looking at buying the "Holiday Plan" pass, which gives buyers access to the Friday night session (3rd round), both Saturday sessions (3rd round), both Sunday sessions (4th round), and both Monday sessions (4th round). The Holiday Plan pass costs about $500 or $600, depending on the Ashe seat location.
2) Tickets for individual U.S. Open sessions go on sale to the general public tomorrow (Monday 6/8 ). Are some of those tickets also opened up for full tournament and partial plan/multi-day passes, or are only the original allotment of full or partial tournament passes still available for people buying multi-day passes after individual session passes go on sale? I looked yesterday at the Holiday Plan pass seating availability, and it was on the skimpy side, so I'm hoping some additional seats open up when individual session tickets go on sale.
3) Just how crowded and uncomfortable is it during that middle/holiday weekend at the USTA Tennis Complex? I know last year there were some matches I wanted to check out in both Armstrong and Grandstand in the mid-afternoon after the Djokovic match was over and before the Kyrgios and Coric matches started, but the lines were so long for both courts I couldn't get in. (I think Madison Keys was playing in one of the matches; she lost that match.) And that backup occurred on the first Thursday, not the weekend. On the other hand, Ashe was well less than half full for the Djokovic match and portion of S. Williams match I saw. During the middle/holiday weekend, how critical is it for fans to get to the non-Ashe courts well in advance of a match they want to see?
4) If I buy the Holiday Plan pass, I would only get a ticket on Friday 9/4 for the evening session. What time can evening session holders get into the grounds at the U.S. Open? I've read some conflicting information; some sites say 5 PM, while others say 6 PM. If I buy a Holiday Plan pass, I'd like to get into the grounds as early as possible so I can watch some of the matches on the outer courts before heading into Ashe (or depending on the matchups, watching those outer court matches until they are all done before going into Ashe).
Any feedback to my questions above would be greatly appreciated.
Despite being severely bummed about Novak Djokovic falling short in the French Open final, I've been thinking about tennis in a more positive way for much of the day today because I'm thinking about what tickets I'll buy for the U.S. Open. I attended the U.S. Open for the first time last year on the Thursday of the first week (2nd round play) as part of a long, single day trip from/to Washington, DC, and even though I paid more than I would have liked (I think about $180 for a loge/2nd level baseline seat in Ashe Stadium; at least I got a good seat for my money), I had a great, great time - I saw a Djokovic (the primary reason I bought an Ashe seat rather than a grounds pass), Serena (just part of a set), Ivanovic (who lost), Jo-Willie (first set only), Stosur (who lost; I had to stand behind some people to watch the end of her match), I think Verdasco (who lost), Raonic (his match was the only match I could get into during the last 45 minutes I was there LOL), and a real highlight of Kyrgios and Coric playing separate matches on adjacent courts at the same time (plus I saw Andy Murray and John McEnroe on the practice courts during breaks in the action in the Kyrgios and Coric matches). I'm looking forward to going again this year, but this time I want to go for multiple days, probably over Labor Day (middle) weekend so I can see the 3rd and 4th rounds. (With the Slams, the 3rd and 4th rounds IMO are very good because you start seeing better matches but there are still a lot of matches to watch, particularly in the 3rd round.) I assume some people on here have attended the U.S. Open middle weekend before, so I wanted to ask some questions:
1) Is it worth it to buy a multi-day pass directly from the U.S. Open/USTA, despite the fact the Ashe seats offered are terrible (up in the very high promenade/3rd level), or should I try to buy say individual grounds passes or possibly Armstrong passes for those days (Friday 9/4 through Monday 9/7) instead? I'm looking at buying the "Holiday Plan" pass, which gives buyers access to the Friday night session (3rd round), both Saturday sessions (3rd round), both Sunday sessions (4th round), and both Monday sessions (4th round). The Holiday Plan pass costs about $500 or $600, depending on the Ashe seat location.
2) Tickets for individual U.S. Open sessions go on sale to the general public tomorrow (Monday 6/8 ). Are some of those tickets also opened up for full tournament and partial plan/multi-day passes, or are only the original allotment of full or partial tournament passes still available for people buying multi-day passes after individual session passes go on sale? I looked yesterday at the Holiday Plan pass seating availability, and it was on the skimpy side, so I'm hoping some additional seats open up when individual session tickets go on sale.
3) Just how crowded and uncomfortable is it during that middle/holiday weekend at the USTA Tennis Complex? I know last year there were some matches I wanted to check out in both Armstrong and Grandstand in the mid-afternoon after the Djokovic match was over and before the Kyrgios and Coric matches started, but the lines were so long for both courts I couldn't get in. (I think Madison Keys was playing in one of the matches; she lost that match.) And that backup occurred on the first Thursday, not the weekend. On the other hand, Ashe was well less than half full for the Djokovic match and portion of S. Williams match I saw. During the middle/holiday weekend, how critical is it for fans to get to the non-Ashe courts well in advance of a match they want to see?
4) If I buy the Holiday Plan pass, I would only get a ticket on Friday 9/4 for the evening session. What time can evening session holders get into the grounds at the U.S. Open? I've read some conflicting information; some sites say 5 PM, while others say 6 PM. If I buy a Holiday Plan pass, I'd like to get into the grounds as early as possible so I can watch some of the matches on the outer courts before heading into Ashe (or depending on the matchups, watching those outer court matches until they are all done before going into Ashe).
Any feedback to my questions above would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited:
