44 insider tips for attending the 2016 U.S. Open in New York

Heading to the 2016 U.S. Open? From transportation to navigating the grounds once you get there, our ultimate guide has you covered.

Jon Wertheim | Aug 23, 2016

44 insider tips for attending the 2016 U.S. Open in New York /

The U.S. Open, starting Aug. 29, is a two-week production that will draw upwards of 700,000 fans. For those planning to attend, here are various tips—culled from previous years with some new ones thrown in:

Pre-Tournament

• We'll get the icky self-promotion out early. The SI.com tennis page will feature the work of various and sundry colleagues including Richard Deitsch, Stanley Kay, Elizabeth Newman, Jamie Lisanti and yours truly. Plus, this year, look for SI’s Daily Data Visualizations, an ongoing collaboration with IBM.

• Tennis Channel’s pregame show starts at 9 a.m. EST and—conflicts aside—it’s good fun and crackling television. Also, the great Mary Carillo will host a late show on the network. ESPN will have the matches, first ball through last ball.

• The new retractable garage door that is the roof will get all the attention, but take inventory of the new Grandstand and various other facilities upgrades.

• Note the Bud Collins Media Center—and pause a moment to acknowledge the eponymous.

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• The qualifying event for the U.S. Open is the best value in sports, and not simply because admission is $0.00. It's top-tier tennis featuring catch-a-rising-star prospects and at least a few down-on-their-luck players, whose names will sound familiar to casual fans.

• Check out the live streaming—available in the U.S.—on USOpen.org.

• Unless you have a match that day, there's no excuse for dressing like a player when you go to the U.S. Open. You don't wear stirrups to Yankees games and shin guards and cleats to watch Arsenal. Leave the wristbands at home.

• Leave the selfie stick as well.

• Give the USTA credit for doing the right thing and conferring a wild card on Juan Martin del Potro.

Transportation

• Take safest play: the MTA's much-maligned No. 7 train from Times Square, Bryant Park or Grand Central in Manhattan to the Willets Point-CitiField stop. Especially if the Mets play, prepare to stand.

• Our preferred alternative: ride the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station. It’s much faster, though trains runs only three or four times an hour, so check the schedule. (As part of our crowd-sourcing, reader @clarkcomedy notes: You can take a bus to the Open straight from LaGuardia.)

• At the risk of sounding like a tourist-bureau p.r. flack, you'll be surprised how civil and efficient the trains are. If you insist on private transportation, take an Uber or cab over a car service, which drops you off somewhere near Montauk.

While at Flushing Meadows

• Buy a program and/or a daily draw sheet when you walk in. The schedule of matches is key for spectator planning, and the program is great changeover reading.

• Bring a Mophie. Unless you’re my kids, in which case you should get off your damn screens.

• We all agree that the USTA sells too many ground passes. But, still, take the grounds pass over reserved seating in Arthur Ashe Stadium, especially during the first week. You'll have the freedom to walk from match to match. You might also want to pick a court early in the day and stake out your terrain.

• Check out the No. 5 court viewing platform.

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• Root for any and all qualifiers in the main draw. Winning that first round could be the difference between financing another year on tour and quitting the sport.

• Root for the players who could use it. This year, candidates include Reilly Opelka (who could have made a credible case for a wild card), Genie Bouchard (believe it or not), some no-name who looks to be close to tears. Djokovic and Serena Williams can win with or without your vocal support. For these other players, it can make a real difference.

• If you own an American Express card, investigate whether you're entitled to a free radio that enables you to hear the TV commentary. (Aside: Whoever does the AmEx U.S. Open sponsorships gets it. These are consistently creative, fun and feel completely non-intrusive.) If not, bring binoculars. Particularly during changeovers—"I think the trainer is on the court, icing down Granollers’ larynx!"—they can come in handy.

• Complain at least once about the lack of intimacy in Arthur Ashe Stadium. And complain at least twice about the lucky ones in the luxury suites who have prime seats yet fail to show or have their backs turned away from the court as they eat their canapés and knock back wine.

• Arrive early and spend half an hour or so watching players practice. It's weirdly mesmerizing, and you can learn quite a bit about players while watching them hit balls for 20 minutes.

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• Drink a lot of water. While waiting in line at the restroom may not be an ideal way to spend time, it beats dehydration any day.

• For those not working, alternative beverages: As @Pschrags encourages you: “Have at least two of those Honey Deuces.”

• Speaking of good habits, wear sunscreen —though bring cream, not aerosol—some of you have told me that a can won’t make it past security.

• Watch the top players in the boys' and girls' singles draw. One day soon they're likely to play on the big stages (or not). Either way it makes for good theater.

U.S. Open 2015 Top 100

Victoria Azarenka

Andy Murray

John Isner

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Oceane Dodin

Jack Sock

Andy Murray

Jack Sock

Kevin Anderson

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Sabine Lisicki

Roger Federer

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Serena Williams

Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt

Caroline Wozniacki

Petra Cetkovska

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Venus Williams

Petra Cetkovska

Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis

Ekaterina Makarova

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Roberta Vinci

Eugenie Bouchard

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

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Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Donald Young

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Fabio Fognini

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Petra Kvitova

Sam Querrey and Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Benoit Paire, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Roger Federer

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Flavia Pennetta

Richard Gasquet

Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer, John Isner

Kristina Mladenovic

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Eugenie Bouchard

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Lucie Safarova

Thanasi Kokkinakis

Tomas Berdych

Donald Young

Lleyton Hewitt

Andrea Petkovic

Agnieszka Radwanska

Stan Wawrinka

Frances Tiafoe

Andy Murray

Nick Kyrgios

Alize Cornet

Mardy Fish, Feliciano Lopez

Mardy Fish

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Fabio Fognini

David Ferrer

Belinda Bencic

U.S. Open