![]() ![]() Since the tournament prioritizes the biggest names for Ashe over the best match-ups, the opening days offer a virtually uninterrupted string of one-sided matches played out before two-thirds-empty crowds – all while the outer courts are a blur of thrilling upsets, breakout performances and evenly matched marathons. That’s especially true during the first week. The worst kept secret among Open regulars is there’s really no reason to set foot in Ashe unless you’re left with no other choice. But the fan experience at the principal show court, at least for those in my tax bracket, is as lousy as it gets for a major sporting event. The US Open makes no secret of the huge crowds it attracts: more than 700,000 fans generate ticket revenue of over $100m during the two-week tournament. Naturally, this embodiment of American excess was erected with a primary objective of printing money hand over fist and to that end it’s been wildly successful. If you’re seated in the ominously designated Row Z in the upper promenade, situated a nosebleed-inducing 120 feet above the court, the match below is but a rumor. The upper bleachers are thrust even further above the court by a ring of 90 luxury boxes, so high that standard etiquette is no longer enforced and spectators are permitted to roam freely between and even during points. The 22,547-seat behemoth is the largest purpose-built tennis stadium in the world – and it’s not particularly close. “From what we get, we can make a living what we give, however, makes a life.Any criticism of Ashe will start with the size of the thing. The statue is inscribed with a quote attributed to Ashe. Standing tall, his left arm pointing upwards, the bronze representation symbolizes Ashe’s two loves: the books he carries represent knowledge, and the racket he holds represents tennis. Soul in Flight was sponsored largely by the United States Tennis Association and was dedicated on August 28, 2000. Today, ten percent of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is devoted to the sport of tennis.Īshe is memorialized in the stadium with a bronze statue sculpted by Eric Fischl. Other annual events held at the center include the Eastern Wheelchair Tennis Championships and the Mayor’s Cup high school tennis championships. During the remainder of the year, the indoor and outdoor courts of the stadium are open to the public. Built for $254 million, the 23,000-seat stadium functions as the main arena for the U.S. Open tournaments.Ĭonstructed and opened in 1997, this stadium at the northern end of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, replaced Louis Armstrong Stadium as the main tennis facility in the park and became the headquarters of the National Tennis Center. Dinkins, receiving heated remarks from the airports, the press and many local residents, maintained his immediate stance, but curtailed his no-fly zone policy during future U.S. Kennedy airports so as not to disturb that year’s U.S. Controversy later erupted when the mayor, an avid tennis fan, ordered the rerouting of all airborne traffic from nearby LaGuardia and John F. Dinkins agreed to the construction of an expensive new tennis stadium for the United States Tennis Association in 1992. He died of pneumonia in New York at age 49.Īs part of a successful bid to keep the United States Open in New York, Mayor David N. His participation in many youth activities, such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program, and his role in protests against South African apartheid earned Ashe recognition as 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, long after his athletic career had ended. Despite his illness, he remained involved in public life. Retiring from the game, he underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983.ĭuring one of his hospital stays, Ashe was likely given an HIV-tainted blood transfusion and he soon contracted AIDS. After this string of athletic successes, Ashe began suffering heart problems. By 1975, he was ranked the number-one tennis player in the U.S. ![]() Open, Ashe defeated several competitors to win the men’s singles title. In 1966 he graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Ashe began playing tennis at the age of ten. This stadium honors tennis player Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. ![]()
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