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For any tennis fan living in New York, the first two weeks of September are the greatest of the year. The world's most elite tennis players come to Queens to compete in the final, most electric Grand Slam of the year: the US Open.
I've attended in the past, but have never lived in New York until this year, meaning I could go mid-week rather than planning a weekend trip around the tournament.
I bought a night-session ticket a month in advance for about $40 — and only later did I find out that the US Open was featuring free-grounds-admission day on the second Thursday of the tournament, a first in Open history.
Grounds admission doesn't grant access into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the headliners play. The day would mostly feature doubles matches and juniors, and the tennis center would likely be claustrophobically packed with fans. Regardless, I had to capitalize on this freebie.
Having already been to the night session during week one of play and scouted out the grounds, I felt prepared to do this day on the cheap.
I spent $5.50 on transportation and splurged on a $15 souvenir, and it was the farthest $20.50 has ever gone for me.
Here's what I got to see:
I woke up to dark skies, wet streets, and an inevitable rain delay at the Open, but the ominous weather would end up working in my favor.
With no indoor courts and an incomplete retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, rain would mean no tennis for the day, but I decided to trek from my home in Manhattan to Queens anyway. I put $5.50 on my Metro Card — enough for a round trip — and headed out around noon.
A little under an hour later, the 7 train dropped me off right at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. Normally, the boardwalk to the courts is packed — but not today.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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