Best deal in tennis? Fans flock to $30 U.S. Open Finals watch party at National Tennis Center

No ticket into Arthur Ashe Stadium for Sunday’s U.S. Open final between American Ben Shelton and top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany?

For thousands of fans at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, no problem.

For the third consecutive year, the final weekend at the U.S. Open featured the Finals Fan Fest, which included a watch party inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. Though the men’s final was the only match at the tournament Sunday, fans could purchase a Finals Fan Fest grounds pass to watch the match at Armstrong or on the screens outside Ashe and take in everything the grounds have to offer.

The Finals Fan Fest grounds pass tickets were listed for $30 retail on Ticketmaster, and children 12 and under could attend with a free ticket.

For the fans who attended Sunday despite not having access to Ashe: why?

“Oh, easy answer,” said Glenn Johnson of Briarwood, Queens. “I love tennis, but I focus most on this tournament. I was raised in Queens, also. I first came in ’95 and missed a few years since, very few, but I changed my patterns.

“I only come once a year now, and it’s the final day. I used to come to qualifying, and saw Ben Shelton almost qualify five years ago.

“The atmosphere, the food, the proximity to home, the pricing is right for today. I saw grounds passes go up recently for the [secondary] market, and I decided just [the] last day. I just want to make sure I put it all together with merchandise, just to make the whole experience, especially the men’s final, no matter who’s playing.”

Johnson, who was wearing a U.S.-themed 1994 World Cup jacket, bought his Finals Fan Fest ticket weeks ago on Ticketmaster for $30 plus a $2.22 service charge, a price point that he said was “fantastic.” He bought a string bag and a $30 souvenir journal Sunday. And it didn’t hurt that he got to root for Shelton after remembering “every detail” from his qualifying experience in 2021.

The Finals Fan Fest began Saturday. After the women’s final, Zedd, the popular DJ, performed inside Louis Armstrong Stadium; those tickets were sold separately, starting at $35.

In the lead-up to Sunday’s match, Finals Fan Fest grounds pass tickets could have been purchased on the secondary market for less than any concession at the U.S. Open. According to TickPick, as of 1:45 p.m. Sunday, about 15 minutes before the final started, the get-in price for a Finals Fan Fest grounds pass ticket was $3.

David Case, from Briarwood, Queens, said he bought his Finals Fan Fest grounds pass ticket for $25 plus tax in-person at the USTA National Tennis Center.

“I usually like to come to one of these, whether it be that it’s the women’s or the men’s,” Case said. “Last year, I went to the women’s. And in the past, before they even decided they wanted to do a Fan Fest, I usually came to one of them over the weekend, where they would have everybody sitting by the fountain and watching . . . The only thing I wish is that instead of having a tag to this, it should have been considered a free event.”

Case compared the experience inside Armstrong to this past summer’s NYNJ World Cup 26 Queens Group Stage HQ at the USTA National Tennis Center, which he attended multiple times to watch World Cup games. It was important for him to be there for Sunday’s final regardless of whether he physically was inside Ashe.

“Seven years ago, my wife and I were at Wimbledon,” he said. “We settled for sitting on the hill to watch Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic play in a match for the ages.”

Dr. Angelique Brown, of Queens, attended Fan Week — the free week featuring qualifying matches before the tournament’s main draws begin — the past three years. She decided Saturday that she would attend Sunday’s Finals Fan Fest after her best friend wanted to go, and she was expecting the crowd inside Armstrong to be “just as loud as Arthur Ashe.”

“I wanted to be part of the camaraderie,” she said.

Ana Bennett, who is from Florida, attended the U.S. Open for the first time last Thursday to see the women’s semifinals.

She said she had wanted to attend the tournament her whole life and that she had so much fun that she had to return Sunday. She acknowledged her mistake of buying her Finals Fan Fest ticket for Sunday on the secondary market for $175 but nonetheless was savoring the chance to root for Shelton alongside her fellow Americans at Armstrong.

“It’s the camaraderie,” said Bennett, who was wearing a red and blue USA shirt. “It’s the unity. It’s just the energy. It’s just so much fun. You’re a tennis fan if you’re here.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.