The first decision is the session
Most people think about the US Open as a single ticket. It is not. The tournament sells day and night sessions separately, and they are genuinely different experiences at different prices. Getting this right is the first real decision of a US Open trip, so here is how it works.
Day sessions: the most tennis
A day session starts around midday and delivers the most tennis for your money: matches across Arthur Ashe, Louis Armstrong, and the outside courts, all afternoon into the evening. In the first week especially, you can wander the grounds and catch stars up close on the smaller courts. If you love tennis and want to see as much of it as possible, the day session is the value play.
Night sessions: the iconic experience
A night session, in Arthur Ashe Stadium under the lights, is what people picture when they picture the US Open. Two marquee matches, a electric New York crowd, and the sense of occasion that makes it the loudest, most theatrical of the four majors. It is a smaller amount of tennis than a day session but a much bigger experience, and the best night sessions are the hottest tickets of the tournament.
Grounds pass versus reserved seat
There is one more distinction to understand:
- A grounds pass gets you onto the grounds and the outside courts, and on some sessions into the upper levels of the show courts. It is a great, affordable way to experience the first week, when the outside courts are packed with stars.
- A reserved show-court ticket gives you a seat in Louis Armstrong Stadium or Arthur Ashe Stadium for a specific session. For the night sessions and the second week, this is what you want, and it is what sells out.
The first week versus the second
The first week is a firehose of tennis: every court busy, the full field in action, the best time for a grounds pass. The second week narrows to the show courts as the draw thins to the contenders, culminating in the finals, and that is when reserved Arthur Ashe seats become both essential and scarce.
So which should you buy?
- You want the most tennis, on a budget: a first-week day session or a grounds pass.
- You want the iconic, under-the-lights experience: a night session in Arthur Ashe.
- You want the drama of the contenders and the finals: reserved show-court seats in the second week, booked early.
- You want it all: one day session and one night session across your trip, which is what many travelers do.
The short version: decide whether you are chasing volume or atmosphere, then book the night sessions and second-week seats early, because those are the ones that go.
Plan it on the US Open Tennis page.
Session structure reflects the US Open’s published format as of July 2026.