Throughout its rich, 142-year history, the U.S. Open has proved an attractive spectacle for millions of tennis fans. Hundreds of thousands of spectators descend on Corona Park – the competition’s home since 1978 – each fall, desperate to catch a glimpse of the sport’s biggest stars in action.
Last year’s total attendance figure eclipsed all previous editions of this much-revered tournament. An eye-watering 776,120 people visited Flushing Meadows throughout the main event, with a further 111,924 turning out for Fan Week, a seven-day long warm-up show that stages qualification matches, legends contests, and a myriad of tennis-themed family activities.
The fight for supremacy
Nevertheless, with an intensely competitive field heading to New York in late August, and fond memories of a barnstorming fortnight of tennis in 2022 still lingering, organizers will be quietly confident of attracting record-breaking crowds for a second consecutive year. Those lucky enough to be in attendance will undoubtedly bear witness to some incredible, tightly-contested encounters, with the sportsbooks suggesting the Women’s Singles event will be a particularly close-run battle.
The Betfair tennis betting markets indicate eastern European player Aryna Sabalenka (5/1) is well-fancied to progress to the latter stages of the tournament, whilst local hero Jessica Pegula (16/1) – who was born in New York and reached the quarter-final stage last time out – isn’t expected to secure her first-ever Grand Slam title this September.
Belarussian hotshot Sabalenka claimed her first major earlier this year by winning the Australian Open, before advancing to the last four at Roland Garros less than six months later. The 25-year-old faced Russian-born Kazakhstani international Elena Rybakina in the Melbourne Park final and will expect the 2022 Wimbledon winner to push her all the way once again.
However, Rybakina’s performances at the U.S. Open have generally been underwhelming; the world number three presides over a rather modest 43%-win average and has never advanced beyond the third round of the competition. Will we see her luck change in 2023?
A world-class venue
Whilst the Women’s Single section – and all other competitive segments for that matter – are likely to generate a huge demand for tickets, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is more than capable of facilitating bustling crowds.
Its showpiece Arthur Ashe stadium, one of three large-format areas located within the 46.5-acre complex, boasts a capacity of 23,770, making it the largest purpose-built tennis venue in the world. In addition to these stadiums, the center has a further 19 match courts and 12 practice courts in an adjacent site attached to the main grounds.
Last fall, this colossal complex was at its most busy when a retiring Serena Williams was on court. The six-time US Open champion chose to end her immensely-decorated career on home soil, competing in the Singles and Doubles (with sister Venus for the first time since 2018) competitions. Whilst her 21st appearance at Corona Park ultimately ended in disappointment, Williams will have been delighted that a full house was in attendance for each of her last few matches.
The likes of Sabalenka will be hoping for further sell-outs this year.