So you’ve heard about the US Open, that big tennis event in New York, and you’re curious how it all works. Great! This guide will walk you through the basics in a fun, laid-back way. Whether you’re a new tennis fan or a casual sports enthusiast, we’ve got you covered on everything from the tournament’s structure to the vibe on the grounds. By the end, you’ll know what to expect when watching or attending the US Open, without getting lost in tennis jargon. Let’s jump in!
The Basics: What Is the US Open?
The US Open is one of the four major Grand Slam tennis tournaments (the others are the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon). It’s actually the final Grand Slam of each year, held in late summer in New York City. All the action happens at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens. The tournament usually begins in the last week of August and wraps up in early September, often coinciding with the Labor Day weekend in the U.S..
Unlike some sports that might have regular season games or multiple meets, the US Open is a single-elimination tournament, lose once and you’re out. In total, there are five main events that run concurrently: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.
Tournament Structure: Events, Draws and Rounds
Each of the singles draws features 128 players in the first round, imagine a giant bracket of 128 names, which gets whittled down by half each round. If that sounds like March Madness, you’re not far off. To win the trophy, a player must win seven matches in a row: First Round, Second Round, Third Round, Fourth Round (also called the Round of 16, when 16 players remain), Quarterfinals (8 remain), Semifinals (4 remain), and the Final (the last 2 face off). Seven rounds = champion. It’s a high-stakes knockout bracket, lose a match and your US Open is over, while the winner moves on.
Doubles works similarly, just with teams instead of individual players. Doubles draws are smaller, typically 64 teams in men’s and women’s doubles. That means winning six matches to take the doubles title. Mixed doubles is even smaller, often 32 or fewer teams, so that event crowns its champions in a shorter span.
Scoring format can be a bit confusing to newcomers, but here’s the gist: Men’s singles matches are best-of-five sets, while women’s singles (and all doubles events) are best-of-three sets. “Best-of-five” means the men have to win three sets to win the match; “best-of-three” means women and doubles teams need two sets to win. A set is won by winning six games (or more, if it’s very close, you have to win by two). If players split sets (each winning some), they keep playing until someone has the majority needed. In men’s matches that can go up to five sets maximum (a 3–2 sets score), and in women’s it’s up to three sets max (2–1). Don’t worry if that’s confusing at first, just remember: men’s matches tend to be longer because they potentially play more sets.
Within each set, the game score runs in a unique tennis way (0, 15, 30, 40, game, with possible “deuce” if tied at 40). You’ll hear the umpire call scores like “15–love” (meaning 15–0) or “deuce” (40–40). It’s quirky, but you get used to it! Importantly, the US Open uses tiebreakers to decide any set that reaches 6–6. In fact, the US Open pioneered the use of tiebreaks, being the first Slam to prevent those marathon endless sets. Nowadays if a deciding set is tied 6–6, they play a special tiebreaker (first to 10 points, win by 2) to determine who takes the set and match. This ensures matches don’t go on indefinitely, no 70–68 final set chaos here. So, in summary: win enough points to take games, enough games to take sets, and enough sets to take the match!
How Players Qualify and the Draw is Made
You might be wondering: how do players get into this bracket of 128 in the first place? It’s not a first-come-first-served signup, entry is based on world rankings and a few other paths. Here’s the rundown:
Most players in the main draw got there via their ATP (men’s) or WTA (women’s) ranking. The higher your ranking, the better your chance to get straight in. In fact, if you’re roughly in the top 100 or so players in the world and enter the US Open, you’ll get direct acceptance into the tournament. Grand Slams typically guarantee entry to about the top 104 ranked players who sign up. These are the stars and tour regulars who earned their spot through a year’s results on tour.
What about players ranked lower than that cutoff? They have two main ways in. One is the Qualifying Tournament, essentially a tournament before the tournament. In the week before the US Open main event, 128 hopefuls fight for 16 coveted spots in the main draw. To snag one of those qualifying spots, a player has to win three matches in a row during “qualies.”
The other way in is a wild card. Wild cards are essentially golden tickets given out by the organizers. The US Open reserves a handful of wild card entries for players who didn’t qualify by ranking, but whom they want in the draw. Often these go to young rising American players, experienced players making a comeback from injury, or even past champions who need a boost to get in. Think of it like a special invite. There are usually around 8 wild card slots in singles.
Now, once the 128 players (mix of direct entries, qualifiers, and wild cards) are decided, the draw is made, basically the bracket is set up. This is where seeding comes into play. The top 32 players in each singles draw are seeded, which means they are strategically placed in the bracket so that they won’t meet each other until later rounds. A seed essentially reflects a player’s ranking and expected performance, #1 seed is the tournament favorite on paper, #32 seed is also excellent but not top favorite. Being seeded is a nice perk because it usually means your first couple of matches are against unseeded (lower-ranked) players. Once the draw is made, it’s set in stone, it won’t be rearranged if, say, some top players get ousted early. That’s part of the excitement!
In Doubles
the field is smaller but works similarly. Teams are accepted based on combined rankings, with a qualifying event for a few spots and wild cards for some duos. Doubles has its own seeding for top teams as well. Mixed doubles, being a more compact draw, often takes players who sign up based on ranking and also hands out wild cards. In 2025, for instance, the mixed doubles draw was set at 16 teams, with 8 direct entries by ranking and 8 wild cards, showing how even mixed balances merit and invitations.
The Venue
Arthur Ashe Stadium under the lights, the largest tennis arena in the world, generates an electric atmosphere during a US Open night match. When you think of the US Open, think big, loud, and exciting. The venue at Flushing Meadows has 22 outdoor courts sprawled across the grounds (plus a dozen practice courts), including three main stadiums: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the Grandstand. Arthur Ashe Stadium is the crown jewel, it holds about 23,771 fans, making it the largest tennis stadium on the planet. When it’s full for a big match, it truly hums with energy. The noise level in Ashe can be off the charts, cheers, music between games, the echo of the roof when it’s closed, and the buzz of New York fans who aren’t shy about reacting.
Outside of Ashe, the Louis Armstrong Stadium (about 14,000 seats) and the Grandstand (around 8,000 seats) are the next biggest stages. Armstrong also hosts both day and night matches, and it even has some sections of general admission seating where anyone with a grounds ticket can sit, which is great. The Grandstand is beloved by many fans because of its more intimate feel, you’re closer to the court and the ticket is general admission, so it’s first-come, first-served. There’s also a court nicknamed the “Pit” (Court 17), a sunken court that fits about 2,800 fans and can get really loud and rowdy as people pack in around the lowered playing surface. And don’t forget the dozen or so smaller field courts scattered around, in the early rounds, these outer courts are full of matches. You can stand or grab a seat close to the action, often just a few feet from the players, which is awesome for seeing world-class tennis up close.
Attending the US Open: Tickets and Tips
So, how do you experience the US Open in person? The ticket system might seem a little tricky at first, but here’s the skinny. Each day of the tournament is usually split into a Day Session and a Night Session (for the main stadium at least). When you buy tickets, you typically choose a session and a specific stadium. The primary options are tickets for Arthur Ashe Stadium (the big one) or grounds passes that let you roam the smaller courts (and access unreserved seating in other stadiums).
A Grounds Pass is a popular (and often cheaper) choice, especially in the first week. This general admission ticket lets you wander all around the National Tennis Center and watch matches on any court except you won’t have a reserved seat in Arthur Ashe Stadium. You can camp out by the outer courts, pop into Louis Armstrong Stadium and Grandstand (they have sections open to all), and basically sample a bit of everything. It’s like a “festival ticket” for tennis, move around and catch whatever match looks interesting. In the early rounds, there are dozens of matches across all those courts, so a grounds pass is tennis paradise: you could see a top seed on a smaller court in the afternoon, then catch a tight doubles match on another court, all in one day.
If you want to guarantee seeing the superstars in Arthur Ashe Stadium, you’ll need a specific ticket for Ashe. Ashe tickets come in day or night session varieties (except finals days which are one session). A Day session Ashe ticket gives you an assigned seat in Ashe for the two or three matches scheduled there before evening, and it also acts as a de facto grounds pass, meaning you can use it to roam outside courts too during the day. A Night session Ashe ticket gets you a reserved seat for the two matches scheduled that evening in Ashe. Note that if you have only a night ticket, you can’t enter the grounds until around 6 PM when day session is ending. Some hardcore fans buy tickets for both sessions to make a full day of it, but for most, one or the other is plenty.
There are also tickets for Louis Armstrong Stadium which has its own reserved seating sections. Armstrong is a great middle-ground option: cheaper than Ashe, but you still get to see big matches in a more intimate stadium. An Armstrong ticket, like Ashe’s, also lets you wander the grounds (except you can’t go into Ashe’s reserved areas). And the Grandstand stadium is mostly general admission, so no ticket specific to Grandstand is needed, first-come for seats there.
Watching from Home: TV and Streaming
Maybe a trip to New York isn’t in the cards, no worries, the US Open is very accessible on TV and online. In the United States, coverage is wall-to-wall on the ESPN family of networks. Matches start by 11:00 AM Eastern most days (noon for Arthur Ashe Stadium day session), and ESPN will spread coverage across ESPN, ESPN2, and the streaming service ESPN+ (as well as ESPN3 for online viewers). In practical terms, this means you can flip on ESPN or ESPN2 during the day to catch featured matches. Often they’ll jump between courts to show Americans or big names. Meanwhile, ESPN+ (if you have it) allows you to stream individual courts, which is awesome if you want to follow a specific match that might not be on the main TV feed.
Final Thoughts: Enjoying the US Open Experience
The US Open is more than just a tennis tournament, it’s a spectacle. It blends world-class sports with a festival atmosphere in one of the world’s most dynamic cities. For beginners, it might seem like a lot, weird scoring, tons of matches, and quirky traditions, but that’s part of the charm. After a little exposure, you’ll be explaining to your friends why a score of 40–40 is called “deuce” and debating whether a player should serve-and-volley more often!
