The biggest tennis tournament in the country is under way. As the first round of the U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens is in process, demand for U.S. Open tickets on the secondary market has been increasing compared to both last year and just a few weeks ago.
Originally, fans planning on watching and attending were handed a big blow with the withdrawal of defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal injured his wrist in July and has not played in a tournament since losing at Wimbledon. While the absence of Nadal will open up the tournament for a new champion, some prices for U.S. Open tickets have dropped due to the withdrawal. The biggest impact by Nadal’s absence is in the prices for the Men’s Final. Before his announcement, the Men’s Final had an average price of $837.33. Now prices have dropped down to $767.96, an 8.3% decrease in a short span of time. Even with the decrease on the secondary market, it is unlikely there will not be a full 22,547 in attendance at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the Men’s Final on September 8.
Outside of the Men’s Final, ticket prices for the U.S. Open have have been increasing for most of the other tournament sessions. Over the past two weeks, the average price across the entire tournament has risen from $318.04 to $353.76, an increase of 11%. Currently the average price of the entire tournament is more expensive than it was last year when Nadal won. Last year the average price for U.S. Open tickets was $316.48.
The only other session to drop in average price has been Session 25 on on September 7. The session which, includes both the Women’s Final and Men’s Doubles Final, had and average price of $405.07 before the tournament started and has decreased to $388.82, a drop of 4%. However, all the Finals sessions are likely to increase in price as the tournament plays out and the later matchups are revealed.
Early session prices have also increased on the secondary market since they are the most in demand as the tournament is about to start. Tickets across the first round of the tournament had an average price of $131.70 just two weeks ago and now have an average price of $141.26, a 7% increase. The session including the Men’s Semifinal and Women’s Doubles Finals remain the most expensive on the secondary market. The average price for that session is currently $892.06 on September 6.
While there have been some notable price differences since Nadal pulled out of the tournament, there has not been a drastic negative impact on the tournament outside of the Men’s Final. With the absence of Nadal, the U.S. Open will not be void of the world’s best tennis players. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have already advanced through the first round and Roger Federer and American John Isner are set to participate in the second day of the first round. On the women’s side, Serena Williams will defend her title from last season.
