US Open Tennis Championships 2026: What to Know (New York)

Why go

The US Open is the last Grand Slam of the tennis season and the only one played entirely at night sessions under lights, giving it a distinct, electric atmosphere compared to Wimbledon or the French Open. It’s also the most fan-friendly major: grounds passes let you wander among 20+ courts, watch practice sessions up close, and catch rising players on outer courts for a fraction of the cost of Arthur Ashe Stadium seats.

The 2026 edition was set for August 23 to September 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, the same 46-acre complex that has hosted the tournament since 1978.

Getting there

The venue sits inside Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, easily reached by public transit from Manhattan. The 7 train (Flushing-bound) stops at Mets–Willets Point station, which lets out directly across from the National Tennis Center, roughly 25-35 minutes from Midtown. The Long Island Rail Road also stops at Mets–Willets Point on match days, cutting the trip from Penn Station to about 20 minutes, which counts for a lot during peak evening sessions when the 7 train gets packed.

Driving is the hard way in: on-site parking is limited and expensive, and traffic around the park backs up badly during night session arrivals. From JFK or LaGuardia, a taxi or rideshare to the grounds is straightforward, though game-day congestion stretches the journey.

What to see and do

Fan Week (August 23–29) covers qualifying rounds and is typically free or low-cost to attend, making it a good budget entry point for the grounds experience and some celebrity-adjacent practice-court sightings. Main draw singles were scheduled to begin August 30, and by the second week the draw narrows toward quarterfinals, semifinals and the finals in mid-September, when Arthur Ashe Stadium sessions are the hottest tickets.

Beyond Ashe, Louis Armstrong Stadium (with its retractable roof) and the intimate Grandstand court often deliver better value and closer views for day-session tickets. Grounds passes carry the most weight early in the tournament: you can hop between courts, watch doubles and juniors, and often see top singles players in earlier rounds without paying for a stadium seat. Food courts on-site lean into New York flavors alongside the usual tournament fare, and the pop-up bars and sponsor lounges, which change from year to year, are worth a wander even if you’re not eating there. Merchandise shops sell official gear; lines get long on weekends and during finals week, while early mornings are calmer.

When to go

Weekday day sessions (roughly noon starts) tend to be less crowded and cheaper than evening sessions, which start later and carry a livelier, more expensive atmosphere under the lights. The first week features more simultaneous matches across courts, so it’s ideal for court-hopping and catching multiple matches per visit. Late August into early September in New York is often hot and humid, which makes sun protection and hydration part of an afternoon session in the first week; by the semifinals and finals in mid-September, evenings cool off noticeably.

Star power comes at a price in the finals: those sessions are the most expensive of the tournament and the first to sell out.

Nearby and tips

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park itself rewards extra time. The Unisphere, Queens Museum and New York Hall of Science are all a short walk from the tennis center, making it easy to turn a match into a half-day outing. Flushing’s Chinatown, a few stops further on the 7 train, is one of the best food destinations in the city for a meal before or after a session.

This is a major annual event whose details shift each year: ticket prices, gate and security policies, order of play and session start times. For 2026, tickets were sold through the official US Open / USTA website.