NEW YORK—Coming into this year’s U.S. Open, the 10th I am fortunate enough to be credentialed for, I thought I’d seen it all when it comes to the late-summer Slam. But as sports has a way of doing without any advance warning, this know-it-all was proven wrong.
You may have heard that there is now a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. While that is the most important change to have taken place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from a tournament perspective, it is far from the most noticeable difference to anyone who has regularly attended the event, or perhaps even the most significant change overall. Every side court has followed in the evolution of Courts 4, 5 and 6 and been given a sleek, modern renovation, with the new Grandstand the centerpiece of this transformation. Shops and restaurants are dispersed around the facility, making its former hinterlands veritable destinations. For years, a trip to Flushing Meadows felt like a portal into decades past. Now, it’s a step into the future of the sports-viewing experience—quite fitting for the venue of the 1964 “Tommorowland” World’s Fair.
As I ambled through the Open’s gleaming pathways, I was left speechless at the scope of the undertaking, though not always in admiration. Ashe Stadium really shows its age in contrast to the surrounding structures; it needed its stylish new hat to keep up. But overall, the overhaul works, and it was not until this year that you could really grasp the method of the USTA’s seeming madness.
By the time I sat down at the old Grandstand for a much-needed dose of nostalgia (no matches will be held there this year, but players will practice on the beloved court), Ryan Harrison had already came and left Flushing Meadows with a spot in the U.S. Open main draw. And after winning the final round of the qualifying tournament, he took a car down the Grand Central Parkway to the Open’s former home, the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, to try and win the final match of the Mylan World TeamTennis season for the San Diego Aviators.