Justin Hom is 31 years old, lives in an apartment on Waverly and Sixth and has a full-time job as a marketing director for American Express. For the next two weeks, as he has done for the last two years, he'll eat up most of his vacation time and come to the Open to work for very little money a ballboy. On Sunday afternoon, he was on his lunch break outside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I'm just off a boys singles match--juniors--and those matches aren't as fun obviously," he said. "There's no one in the stands. I've done a couple matches in the Grandstand, some night matches, and it is so fun there. It feels like you're playing, and you're apart of the whole thing."
That enthusiasm is what brings him back.
"I use a lot of my vacation time, which kinda stinks," he said. "And it is tiring. But when you do a really good match, and last year I did a couple of great matches on the Grandstand, it's so fun! It's so exciting. The crowd is going crazy, you're sprinting around. I feel like I'm there. It's so fun."
He's had a very nice career: In three years he's covered nine matches at Arthur Ashe. Like most ballboys, Hom works behind the baseline where he throws long tosses at the end of each game to the other end of the court, and hands towels and balls to players during their service game.
Every night, Hom takes home with him a sore back and a $9 an hour salary, which last year came out to a little less than $1,000 over the two weeks. At 31, he's one of the oldest ballboys at the Open; most ballboys are Queens and New York teenagers looking for one last week or two of summer work.
But think of the perks! One of the advantages of being an older ballboy, it would seem, is the opportunity to work on that tan and look awfully pretty for adoring girls in the stands. Isn't the job a total chick magnet?
"No, no, not really," he said. "Most of the people here are, like, young families, or like boyfriend-girlfriend. There aren't like single girls. But there are definitely pretty girls around. I get distracted all the time. I'm like watching a match and I'm like looking to the side."
Of course, the ballboys have an intimate familiarity with some of the top players. So who are the biggest *******s?
"I did Martina Navratilova's match one year, a mixed doubles match, and, not to me, but to this little girl, she started yelling at this little girl. I guess she got her the wrong water or something, and she was really, really mean about it. I've heard stories about her. A lot of the French guys--this is terrible--are pretty mean. They want the ball to reach at a certain height. You can't come close to them. They'll tell you to back up--like really rude, petty stuff stuff like that. We're busting our butt! They want their towel a certain way.
"[Arnaud] Clement last year he was a real dick to a lot of kids," he continued. "Just really mean. Give me a break. We're here to help you and you're giving us ****."
And the nice people?
"Stanislas Warwinka was super nice. He was in a super tight match and he said thank you for the towel. Little things. He wouldn't ***** about anything. If they don't say anything to you, they're the nice ones."
Also: "Sam Querrey was like, 'Hey man, great toss," like ****ing around a little bit and that was really cool."
Hom, who used to be a tennis player at Georgetown but doesn't play much anymore, said this would probably be his last U.S. Open. He said in his final week he's hoping he can get a Federer, Nadal or Roddick match since he's never worked them before. But otherwise, considering the difficulty of breaking through the stringent caste system for ballboys where the best and most senior are used for the very marquee matches, this will probably be the end of a wonderful three-year run.
"It's too hard to break into that core group," he said. "I want to be apart of those 15 to 20 guys who do the big matches and I'll never get in because they'll never leave."
"I'm just off a boys singles match--juniors--and those matches aren't as fun obviously," he said. "There's no one in the stands. I've done a couple matches in the Grandstand, some night matches, and it is so fun there. It feels like you're playing, and you're apart of the whole thing."
That enthusiasm is what brings him back.
"I use a lot of my vacation time, which kinda stinks," he said. "And it is tiring. But when you do a really good match, and last year I did a couple of great matches on the Grandstand, it's so fun! It's so exciting. The crowd is going crazy, you're sprinting around. I feel like I'm there. It's so fun."
He's had a very nice career: In three years he's covered nine matches at Arthur Ashe. Like most ballboys, Hom works behind the baseline where he throws long tosses at the end of each game to the other end of the court, and hands towels and balls to players during their service game.
Every night, Hom takes home with him a sore back and a $9 an hour salary, which last year came out to a little less than $1,000 over the two weeks. At 31, he's one of the oldest ballboys at the Open; most ballboys are Queens and New York teenagers looking for one last week or two of summer work.
But think of the perks! One of the advantages of being an older ballboy, it would seem, is the opportunity to work on that tan and look awfully pretty for adoring girls in the stands. Isn't the job a total chick magnet?
"No, no, not really," he said. "Most of the people here are, like, young families, or like boyfriend-girlfriend. There aren't like single girls. But there are definitely pretty girls around. I get distracted all the time. I'm like watching a match and I'm like looking to the side."
Of course, the ballboys have an intimate familiarity with some of the top players. So who are the biggest *******s?
"I did Martina Navratilova's match one year, a mixed doubles match, and, not to me, but to this little girl, she started yelling at this little girl. I guess she got her the wrong water or something, and she was really, really mean about it. I've heard stories about her. A lot of the French guys--this is terrible--are pretty mean. They want the ball to reach at a certain height. You can't come close to them. They'll tell you to back up--like really rude, petty stuff stuff like that. We're busting our butt! They want their towel a certain way.
"[Arnaud] Clement last year he was a real dick to a lot of kids," he continued. "Just really mean. Give me a break. We're here to help you and you're giving us ****."
And the nice people?
"Stanislas Warwinka was super nice. He was in a super tight match and he said thank you for the towel. Little things. He wouldn't ***** about anything. If they don't say anything to you, they're the nice ones."
Also: "Sam Querrey was like, 'Hey man, great toss," like ****ing around a little bit and that was really cool."
Hom, who used to be a tennis player at Georgetown but doesn't play much anymore, said this would probably be his last U.S. Open. He said in his final week he's hoping he can get a Federer, Nadal or Roddick match since he's never worked them before. But otherwise, considering the difficulty of breaking through the stringent caste system for ballboys where the best and most senior are used for the very marquee matches, this will probably be the end of a wonderful three-year run.
"It's too hard to break into that core group," he said. "I want to be apart of those 15 to 20 guys who do the big matches and I'll never get in because they'll never leave."
