Carroll’s Column: Successful Turnout for US Open’s Fan Week

Atmosphere during 2024 Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on August 24, 2024 - Image Credit: Lev Radin

NEW YORK — In the city that never sleeps,  tennis enthusiasts across New York continue to show their love and fandom for the sport, with the most exciting tennis events taking place at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. There’s still time to be a part of the history and experience by purchasing tickets at USOpen.com/TicketsAvailableNow 

United States Tennis Association officials had every reason to be euphoric during the first week of the US Open. The week before the start of the US Open used to be known as “the qualifiers,” and only diehard tennis fans paid attention to it, even with free admission to the grounds. The USTA rebranded its preview time as “Fan Week,” as tennis clinics and entertainment were added. The US Open is a culinary event as much as it is a tennis event, and its top-notch food purveyors decided to open a week earlier to accommodate the public demand. 

Last year, roughly 157,000 patrons visited the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for Fan Week. This year, that number skyrocketed to over 216,000 spectators. Fan Week’s popularity has led to an increase in paying customers as well. Over 76,000 fans attended the first day of the Open last Monday.    

The attendance numbers are amazing considering longtime fan favorite Serena Williams had retired, no American male player has won a Grand Slam event since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open, although it should be noted five American men are ranked in the top 20 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour.     

I asked the highest-ranked American men’s player, Taylor Fritz, if he and his fellow ATP countrymen have spoken about the 21-year Grand Slam title drought or if this was just a media talking point. “We don’t speak about it, but we are all aware of it. Each of us wants to be the one who finally breaks the streak.”      

The biggest disappointment for USA tennis fans was Sloane Stephens’ first-round loss to France’s Caroline Burel. Stephens, the 2017 US Open Women’s champion, won the first nine games from Burel before she figuratively collapsed. At age 31, it is safe to wonder if Stephens is really a factor anymore in Grand Slams. Her ranking was a shockingly low 62 coming into the US Open.      

Norway’s Casper Ruud came to Queens a week before the US Open to take part in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown tournament held at Forest Hills Stadium. “I was aware that it was the old home of the US Open. Obviously, it would be too small to handle what the tournament has become. I loved its intimacy and the grass courts.”    

Ruud also liked the Ultimate Tennis Showdown concept. “Having shorter matches, as well as fans cheering, and music playing, helps introduce tennis to new fans. It also helps me with my concentration!” Ruud said with a chuckle.      

New York Post sportswriter Peter Botte got off a great quip when Australia’s Maya Joint was beaten in the second round by American Madison Keys. “Joint’s US Open dreams have gone up in smoke,” Botte wrote on X.    

Cheech & Chong would be proud.  

ESPN and USTA reach 10 year broadcasting rights agreement 

ESPN and the United States Tennis Association announced they had reached an agreement on a new ten-year broadcast rights deal. The Worldwide Leader in Sports has been televising the US Open since 2014.

Interestingly, CBS, which televised the US Open from its inception in 1968 through 2013, had a large banner advertisement on the building over the #7 train yard reminding tennis fans of the return of the NFL on September 8.    

50th anniversary of Hank Aaron surpassing Babe Ruth for all-time HR record 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s then all-time home run record of 714. There are a pair of recently published books which commemorate Aaron’s life and the breaking of this long-held record.    

715 at 50 by Randy Cox available now

Randy Cox’s “715 at 50″ (Summer Game Books) does an impressive job recalling the events leading up to April 8, 1974, and goes into detail about that magical evening. He was able to get interviews with two of his teammates, pitchers Ron Reed and Buzz Capra.

The book also contains plenty of black & white photos took of both Aaron and the Braves in the early 1970s.    

Home Run King by Dan Schlossberg out now 

Veteran sportswriter, and lifelong Braves fan, Dan Schlossberg, provides a more detailed historic perspective about Aaron’s life in his book, “Home Run King” (Sports Publishing). Schlossberg reveals Aaron’s Hall of Fame teammates, Eddie Mathews, and Warren Spahn, were not choirboys. Mathews liked to drink and carouse after games, while Spahn could be a cruel needler.

We also learn Hank Aaron admitted he was a lousy golfer, but a particularly good tennis player. 

Kelce Brothers sign deal with Wondery 

As if they don’t get enough attention already, the Kelce brothers have signed a deal with Wondery, a division of Amazon, to distribute their podcast “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.”     

Bill Belichick off the sidelines and now a part of media 

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had a reputation for being a man of few words and being wary of the media. As is often the case in sports, Belichick is now part of the media, and he will be ubiquitous. He has signed a deal with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and will be part of their ESPN2 “Monday Night Football” telecast.

Image Credit: USA Today Network

In addition, he is joining the panel on the CW’s “Inside the NFL.”   

New ventures for Andrew Marchand & John Ourand

It has been a tough time for partnerships in recent years. We have seen the breakup of Cellino and Barnes, as well as that of Hall and Oates. We can now add the dissolution of the sports media podcast duo of Andrew Marchand & John Ourand to the list. 

Unlike those sad partnership sagas, Andrew and John are still friends, and lawyers were not needed. Both men left their old outlets. Marchand jumped from the New York Post to the Athletic, while Ourand departed the once-mighty Sports Business Journal for the popular digital news service, Puck. Those moves necessitated each gentleman to start their own sports media podcast. Marchand got permission from the Athletic to start an independent podcast called “Everybody Loves Sports Media.” He has a new partner, Bostonian Jon Meterparel, who has done on-air work for Beantown sports radio giant, WEEI. Ourand’s new podcast is “the Varsity,” and it is affiliated with Puck.      

Hockey world mourns the senseless deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau

The hockey world is mourning the senseless death of one of the NHL’s best players, Johnny Gaudreau, who, along with his brother, Matthew, were killed in their native southern New Jersey by a drunk driver while riding bicycles.     

It’s with great sadness, we mourn the tragic deaths of our friend Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau.

Our hearts are broken by this devastating loss. Johnny was and always will be a member of the Flames family and loved by all of Calgary. pic.twitter.com/xFm1md0vwh

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) August 30, 2024

Their deaths are a stark reminder of how dangerous the roads have become, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Drunk driving, which caused this tragedy, has always been a problem, but things have gotten exponentially worse in recent years, thanks to the legalization of marijuana, and the addictive use of cellphones. Putting these factors together, we now have an epidemic of distracted/impaired drivers. This has not gone unnoticed by automobile insurance companies who have raised their premiums to the point where they are a leading inflation factor in this country. Our political and media leaders need to address the importance of safe driving as a societal issue.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.