There was something for every age at this year’s US Open fan week and tennis lovers were relishing it. It was a tennis fan’s dream.
The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center was flooded with patrons who got to participate in free, exclusive, pre-tournament events and activities. Those included free Wheaties, happy hour Heineken (for the adults of course), customizable tennis balls, immersive gaming arenas, and the opportunity to play and watch tennis alongside some of the sport’s biggest names.
“Just seeing them from TV, then seeing them here, it’s really cool,” said Daniela Luna, who flew in from Texas just for US Open fan week. “My favorite thing is seeing the players up close; just seeing them practice and being close, it’s the best.”
Luna’s favorite tennis player is Coco Gauff, and there was no shortage of being close to Gauff on Tuesday. She took to the stage outside of Arthur Ashe with tennis legend Billie Jean King. It was a passing of the torch — so to speak — because King was handing over the reins as a Wheaties cereal box cover athlete to Gauff.
Wheaties handed out 1,000 boxes of cereal to eager fans in about 10 minutes. Then, fans had a chance to play tennis with Gauff and King on a pickleball-sized court. There is no shortage of tennis to be watched at fan week, even if it’s just Gauff and King volleying.
There are 22 courts at the Flushing complex and nearly every one of them offers the chance to watch the best tennis in the world. While all of the fan week festivities went on, so were the qualifying rounds for the 2024 US Open. Fans were able to step away from DJ sets to watch players battle for a spot in the tournament. Other professionals practiced in front of an audience.
Sam Hirsch, a “huge tennis fan,” was hauling around a few boxes of Wheaties with Gauff’s face on them. He said, “I got to watch Naomi Osaka practice, which was amazing. And it just so happened that Ben Shelton was practicing on the court next to her. I got to see both at the same time. It was awesome.”
As night rolled around on Tuesday, the fans entered Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch the inaugural Mixed Madness tournament with some of Tennis’s biggest names.
The Mixed Madness teams were: Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Amanda Anisimova, Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton.
It was a star-studded line-up. Osaka and Kyrgios took to the court wearing Kobe Bryant Lakers jerseys. Fritz was fresh off a bronze medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics. Badosa and Tsitsipas are tennis’s hottest couple. Gauff and Shelton are America’s sweethearts in the sport.
There is no doubt that Gauff and Shelton are fan favorites. Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted at the sight of the two youngsters. (They are 20 and 21, respectively.)
The four doubles teams competed for $250,000, so it wasn’t just a fun, easy tournament. Osaka/Kyrgios lost in the first round of the tournament. As did Gauff/Shelton, much to the crowd’s dismay.
Anisimova/Fritz battled with Badosa/Tsitsipas for the prize money and the inaugural trophy. Badosa/Tsitsipas won six games to three.
Tsitsipas and Badosa embraced each other and announced that they would be competing in this year’s US Open mixed doubles tournament. The couple looks to repeat what they did during Mixed Madness when there is a US Open championship on the line. Badosa posted about the win on Instagram calling the mixed madness win the “best date night ever.”
