The ascent to the top row of Arthur Ashe Stadium is arduous, and not for those without strong legs — or a strong dedication to watching really good tennis.
For an article on fans who take in the action of the U.S. Open from the nosebleeds, Hilary Howard and Jesus Jiménez, two New York Times reporters, climbed to Row Z of Section 323, one of the stadium’s highest vantage points. They also visited fans in other far-up sections, where tickets are generally more affordable.
They shared notes on their reporting and what they saw from the very top.
Hilary Howard: When I first pitched the article idea, I figured the article would be about people on a budget, dealing with the Thunderdome that is Arthur Ashe Stadium. I set up the scene in the upper tiers as raucous, something I had noticed in my many years of watching tennis from Rows X, Y and Z.
But what I found this summer at the U.S. Open was a more mellow, relaxed fan base — to be honest, I was afraid the story would be boring because of that. But the more I spoke with people in the highest levels of the stands, the more I appreciated what was driving them to be there: Superfans wanted to see their favorite players; tournament regulars secured guaranteed seats under the retractable roof in the event of extreme heat or rain; fans with children wanted space to stretch out; many people sought affordable tickets, and yes, others wanted to party with Honey Deuces.
Judy Tong, who is in charge of U.S. Open coverage for The Times’s Metro desk, asked Jesus Jiménez, who is reporting from the tournament, to partner with me on writing a piece on the people who make up the top levels of the stands.
Jesus Jiménez: I have a special affinity for the nosebleed seats in Arthur Ashe. Before I moved to New York in 2021, attending the U.S. Open was high on my bucket list. Specifically, I wanted to watch Rafael Nadal play there. In 2018, I was able to watch him win a Round of 16 match in four sets. And I watched all of the action from the final row of Section 323.
I’ve since had the chance to cover matches at the U.S. Open as a reporter, from 10 rows behind the court. But I often find myself gravitating toward a separate section of media seats in the 100 level, closer to the higher 300 sections, where Hilary and I interviewed several fans. (A perk of the media seats in the 100 level is that there’s a secret staircase that leads from the press room in the bowels of Ashe up to those seats. The shortcut is helpful when you have to hurry to your desk in the press room to file an article after a match.)
I’ve found that it’s much more relaxed for fans in the upper tiers of the stadium than it is for those sitting courtside. We spoke to many fans who agreed.
Hilary: My job was to focus on interviewing people. I planned to meet the photographer José Alvarado on a late Friday afternoon. But I made the regrettable decision to head over early that day to watch my favorite female player, Victoria Azarenka, compete under the direct sun on an outer court. By the time I’d met up with José, I was sun-dizzy and dehydrated.
Around 4 p.m., José and I started our ascent in Ashe, taking a break at the promenade level to scout for potential interviewees. But many of the upper rows were sparse. We decided to visit the most populated sections, where we approached people of different ages and enthusiasm levels.
Jesus: One of my concerns about speaking with fans was that I didn’t want to bother them during play. To get around that, I ascended the nosebleeds on Aug. 28, with the photographer Michelle Agins, around 6 p.m. That allowed us to speak with fans before the action began around 7 p.m. I also went up on Aug. 27 with Graham Dickie, a Times photography fellow. We talked to a couple of fans who had purchased better (lower) seats, but had moved higher up to be in the shade.
Hilary: Instead of climbing up the 71 steps to each new section in the 300 level, José and I would sometimes make our way around the top using a walkway above Row Z that is off-limits to spectators. When we took a break at ground level — after a four-hour afternoon match — I was spent. But I wanted to see how the vibe up top changed between day and night. So up we trudged again.
By then, the rows had filled with people, the drinks had started to flow, and fans were a bit more loose with their commentary. We got what we needed. The next day, my quads were sore — and I watched the matches from my sofa.
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