U.S. Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to sell tickets for full capacity, source says

The U.S. Open, played without fans last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will begin selling tickets for full capacity beginning in July, a source told Newsday on Wednesday.

That means that upward of 60,000 fans daily for the combined day and evening sessions, and all tickets and categories, including the suites, will be offered for the two-week event that starts Aug. 30.

American Express members get pre-sale opportunities beginning on July 12 and ticket sales to the general public will begin on July 15.

The source said that whatever CDC guidelines are in place regarding COVID-19 will be adhered to.

Last year the Open was played within a pandemic bubble with the USTA moving its Western & Southern Open to Flushing Meadows to precede the main event, giving players more opportunities. The tournaments were played in large measure to preserve the television money as the USTA took an enormous financial hit without ticket sales.

New York’s biggest sporting event was totally devoid of its usual electric atmosphere last year. Only players and their highly limited entourages were allowed on site.

At the time Billie Jean King National Tennis Center CEO Danny Zausner described the facility and the event thusly: "I’ve described it as like a movie set, that the players are playing for the sole ability of being able to broadcast it. We have a 42-acre site that was built to host 800,000-plus people, instead it’s here to cater to the needs of 350-plus players."