A beginner’s guide to the free, festive 'Fan Week' at the US Open

Tense qualifying matches, goofy photo-ops and plenty of food and drink: It's all going down now in Queens

I’ve lived almost my whole life in New York City — and that life has now gotten pretty damn long — and until this past Tuesday I had somehow never managed to check out the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Queens. Not even after they inaugurated the free “fan week” in 2017, during which anyone can waltz right into the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and spend the day (and night) watching tennis and hanging out.

That was a mistake I have now rectified.

A mecca of tennis (Scott Lynch)

Tuesday marked the opening day of fan week this year. It was a blast, both because the tennis itself was incredible and because the well-appointed grounds, and stadiums, are just exceptionally pleasant places to be. Fan week ends Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know.

The tennis
Sports-wise, the highlight of fan week is the qualifying draws, in which 128 men and 128 women compete on nearly two dozen different courts throughout the complex. The top 16 who emerge in each field, players who win three matches in this round, advance to the tournament proper, which begins on Monday, August 28.

And even though they may not be ranked in the top 104 in the world, a status that exempts you from having the play through “the quallies,” these men and women, who come from all over the world to compete in Queens, are astoundingly good. In fact, two years ago the women’s U.S. Open champion, Emma Raducanu, started her run in the quallies.

One of dozens of qualifying matches on Tuesday, as the field gets whittled down from 256 men and women to 32 (Scott Lynch)

The final day of the qualifying draw is Friday, and you can easily pull up to almost any court and sit right in the front row and watch these athletes compete. The overall vibe on the grounds is pleasantly chill and casual, but for the players the stakes are incredibly high.

There are also practice sessions all week, sometimes featuring famous players like Venus Williams or Novak Djokovic, in the complex’s two big arenas, the Arthur Ashe and the Louis Armstrong stadiums. Entrance to the venues requires that you pre-register for something called the Fan Access Pass, but that’s also free. The tennis itself is less exciting than whatever’s going on in the quallies, but it’s fun and worthwhile to check out these arenas.

Inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium (Scott Lynch)

Shopping, photo-ops, and freebies
Admission to the tennis center is free, but you can spend money here if you want to, either on U.S. Open swag at one of several kiosks and shops, or on general tennis stuff at the big Wilson store, like the cartoonishly oversized, $48 tennis ball it seemed like every other kid had talked their parents into buying on opening day.

A satisfied young fan (Scott Lynch)

You can also take a stroll down what I call the Boulevard of Corporate-Sponsored Booths, most of which have some sort of goofy photo-booth thing going on and/or are giving out free samples. Obviously, there are lines to contend with here as the crowds in the complex increase throughout the day.

The brands are everywhere (Scott Lynch)

Food and drink
Are you hungry? Thirsty? Want to get drunk? The U.S. Open’s got you covered. There are dozens of different vendors on hand here, both in the stadiums and at what amounts to an open-air food court, where you’ll also find a vast expanse of mostly shaded tables.

Plenty of shady seats for eating and drinking (Scott Lynch)

It’s an impressive lineup of vendors, including Hill Country BBQ, San Matteo pizza, fancy Fidi restaurant Crown Shy (slinging $18 chopped cheese sandwiches!), Fuku spicy chicken, and my personal top pick, U.S. Open newcomer Migrant Kitchen, which made me an excellent lamb platter with turmeric rice, black beans and lots of pickled things.

The excellent lamb platter from Migrant Kitchen, $22 (Scott Lynch)

There are bars and (uncheap) booze kiosks everywhere, of course — $15 beers, $22 cocktails — which should add a nice bit of raucousness to the evening qualifying matches.

The grounds
Have you been here before? It’s lovely! Located a quick walk from the 7 train at the Mets-Willets Point station, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, as it’s officially known, sprawls across more than 46 acres, with tons of trees and flowers and (fake) lawns creating a park-like vibe. Plus there’s the Court of Champions promenade, with plaques and such celebrating the history of the tournament stretching back nearly 150 years.

During Fan Week the whole place feels a bit like a festival, with music, dance and interviews on the main stage and literal circus performers roaming through the crowd. Fun for the whole family, as they say.