Deep in Queens Arthur Ashe Stadium stands, ready for another U.S Open Tennis Championship. The final Grand Slam of the calendar year will start at the end of August and run through September 13. The tournament has called the stadium in Flushing home since 1997, but there might not have been a bigger tournament than the one coming up. At least that’s the case on the secondary market, as 2015 U.S. Open tickets are the most expensive they’ve been on the secondary market since at least 2010.
According to TiqIQ, the current secondary market average price for U.S. Open tickets across all sessions is $378.22. That price is currently 25% more expensive than last year’s tournament average, and significantly the most expensive U.S. Open TiqIQ has tracked on the secondary market since 2010. Prior to this year, the most expensive tournament came in 2013 and U.S. Open tickets had an average price of $316.80 across all sessions. That still makes this year’s tournament 19.4% more expensive on the secondary market.
This tennis event is much more than a local New York sporting event, as tennis fans from all over the country travel to see the final major on the calendar. New York City hotels or apartment rentals via Airbnb are listed on Hipmunk.com starting at $128, with higher end hotel listings with five-star ratings starting at $269 for out of town fans traveling to see the US Open in person. Fans flying in for the tournament can also use Hipmunk for New York flight deals through most major airline carriers.
Among the major storylines driving up the price for this tournament is Serena Williams’ quest for a calendar year Grand Slam. 1998 was the last time this feat was accomplished, by Staffi Graf. Two other times a woman has completed a Grand Slam in the same year, it was done in 1953 by Maureen Connolly Brinker and in 1970 by Margaret Court. While Williams has been impacting market prices across many sessions, the biggest comes for the Women’s Final on September 12. The current average secondary price for U.S. Open Women’s Final tickets is $807.78 and the get-in price starts at $138. Williams will enter the tournament looking to bounce back from a semifinal loss in the Rogers Cup to eventual champion Belinda Bencic.
The men, of course, won’t have any lack of intrigue when they take the court. Last year Marin Čilić surprisingly won the tournament after coming in ranked as the No. 14 seed. Čilić defeated the No. 3 seed Roger Federer in the semifinals before he beat No. 10 seed Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the Final to win his first major. Even as the defending champion, Čilić will be behind stars like Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as the favorites to win in 2015. Following Murray’s win in the Rogers Cup leading up to the tournament, he remains the overall favorite. Men’s U.S. Open Final tickets on TiqIQ currently average average $926 and the cheapest ticket is listed for $198 for the September 13 session.
