Big Serves, Small Budget: The U.S. Open's Early Rounds Are New York's Best Sports Deal

The best bargain in New York sports opened its gates this week in Queens. The U.S. Open has taken over the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where qualifying matches run free through Friday and the main draws begin Sunday, launching two weeks of tennis that will end with champions crowned on Sept. 12 and 13.

Getting there costs no more than a subway swipe. The 7 train deposits fans at Mets-Willets Point, a five-minute walk across the boardwalk and past the Unisphere to the south gates, and the Long Island Rail Road runs special service from Grand Central that makes the trip in under 20 minutes. Driving makes little sense: official parking lots charge more than some match tickets, and traffic on the Grand Central Parkway backs up well before the first serve at 11 a.m.

The sharpest play of the fortnight costs nothing at all. During Fan Week, which runs through Friday, admission to the grounds is free, and the qualifying tournament — 128 hopefuls per draw grinding for 16 main-draw spots — delivers some of the most desperate, compelling tennis of the event. Between matches, fans can crowd the fences at the practice courts and watch the sport's biggest names hit within arm's reach, no ticket required.

Once the main draw begins Sunday, the humble grounds pass becomes the smartest purchase in the stadium. Face-value passes for the first four days typically run well under triple digits and open up everything but Arthur Ashe Stadium: a dozen outer courts where seeded players open their tournaments, first-come seating in the 8,125-seat Grandstand, and doubles matches where spectators sit close enough to hear players call poaches at the net.

"You can stand close enough on the outer courts to hear the ball fizz. Where else in this city does that kind of money buy you a day like that?"

"You can stand close enough on the outer courts to hear the ball fizz," said Marisol Vega, 34, a public-school teacher from Jackson Heights who has attended every first week since 2019. "I budget maybe sixty dollars, bring a sandwich, fill my bottle at the fountains, and by dinner I've watched four matches. Where else in this city does that kind of money buy you a day like that?"

Concessions are where budgets go to die, so regulars plan ahead. The tournament's signature Honey Deuce — vodka, lemonade, a floater of raspberry liqueur and melon-ball garnish — now runs north of $20 a souvenir cup, yet the grounds still sell hundreds of thousands of them each summer. Fans on a budget bring their own snacks and sealed water bottles, both permitted in small bags, or eat before they arrive in downtown Flushing, a few stops away, where a plate of dumplings costs less than a stadium pretzel.

Those who want the big-stage experience without the big-stage price still have options. Upper-promenade seats in 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium for early day sessions frequently list well below $100 through the official ticket exchange, Louis Armstrong Stadium day tickets run cheaper still, and the 7 p.m. night sessions — when the heat breaks and the lights take over — offer the full spectacle at first-round prices. Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka headline the field, with American contenders Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys and Ben Shelton drawing the week's biggest crowds.

The Open has grown into the city's largest annual sporting event, drawing more than a million fans through the turnstiles in recent editions and pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, from Corona taco trucks to Manhattan hotels. Last year's tournament set a record with $85 million in total player compensation, including $5 million each for the singles champions — a figure the players now chasing this year's title know well.

A few hard-earned lessons separate the rookies from the regulars. Buy only through the tournament's official mobile ticket channels, since screenshots and PDFs do not scan at the gates. Leave the backpack at home — bags face strict size limits, and glass containers and outside alcohol are banned. Bring sunscreen and a hat, because shade on the outer courts vanishes by noon, and check the practice schedule posted each morning, the surest way to see a top seed up close for free.

The qualifying drama wraps Friday, the first ball of the main draw flies Sunday, and for the following two weeks the 7 train will shuttle a cross-section of the entire city — day-trippers, diehards, families with foam fingers — out to the borough's biggest stage. In a summer when everything in New York seems to cost more, the early rounds of the Open remain what they have long been: the rare luxury that still comes in under budget.