Features

US Open celebrates record attendance

The US Open tennis grand slam set its all-time attendance record during its 2019 edition, with 737,872 fans turning out over the course of the two-week tournament.

This year’s US Open concluded at the weekend, with Bianca Andreescu and Rafael Nadal picking up the women’s and men’s singles titles, respectively.

Arthur Ashe Stadium sold out 23 of its 24 sessions during the event at New York’s USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The US Open Fan Week also attracted a record attendance of 115,355, meaning the total three-week attendance surpassed the 850,000 mark for the first time with 853,227 fans coming through the gates.

Last year’s US Open attracted 732,663 fans for the tournament itself and 828,798 including the US Open Fan Week.

Ahead of the 2018 US Open, the tournament’s new-look Louis Armstrong Stadium officially opened. The project formed part of a decade-long overhaul of facilities at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently faced allegations that it owed the city more than $311,000 (£252,000/€281,000) in back rent for use of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said that the USTA under-reported at least $31m in revenue generated by the venue between 2014 and 2017.

Image: US Open