How to Buy Early Access and Individual Tickets
The 2025 French Open is just getting into full swing at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, and yet it’s already time to start thinking about buying tickets for the U.S. Open in New York City this August.
Held annually at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the borough of Queens, the Grand Slam tournament runs for three weeks between August and September. Kicking off Monday, August 18, the first week, often referred to as Fan Week, consists primarily of qualifying matches on the courts and family-friendly activities in and around the tennis center. Most of the high-profile singles matchups fall during the second half of the second week with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals during the third week. There are a few changes in the mix this year, including expanding singles main draws to 15 days and the reimagined Mixed Doubles Championship will take place during the first week of the tournament, on August 19-20.
While tickets for the first week are usually easy to come by—and even procrastinators can usually find seats for qualifying rounds in August—don’t hesitate if you’re aiming for top-seeded matches. Even upper-level nosebleed seats tend to sell out quickly.
Tickets go on sale soon, and there are several ways to secure them—especially if you’re an American Express cardholder, who gets the added perk of early access.
How to buy early access tickets
American Express has been a major sponsor of the U.S. Open for more than 20 years. now. As such, the financial services company has worked out many perks and deals for its customers who come to the tournament. The most important perk is having early access to ticket sales up to three days earlier than the general public.
This year, Amex early access for tickets starts on Tuesday, May 27th at 9 a.m. ET through Wednesday, May 28th until 11:59 p.m. ET. Amex Presale Tickets must be purchased with an American Express card, excluding American Express prepaid cards. Card holders can purchase up to eight tickets per day session and up to eight tickets per evening session for the U.S. Open, but no more than 16 total session tickets per date (inclusive of all presale and public on-sale).
For example, say someone who is an Amex cardholder logs onto the ticketing site at exactly 9 a.m. on May 27. They purchase four day session tickets and four evening session tickets for Wednesday, September 3—a total of eight tickets for that date, staying within the per-session and per-day limits. Later that afternoon, they decide to buy tickets for another day. They return to the site and successfully purchase two day session tickets and two evening session tickets for Thursday, September 4, again staying within the allowed totals.
Note that there is a limited inventory for early access tickets, so these are also only available while supplies last. To get early access, you also need to sign up to be a U.S. Open Insider, which will provide email ticket alerts and links when sales go live.
Part of the Fan Zone outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2024 U.S. Open.
How to buy general admission tickets
Ticket plans with bundled access to multiple matches are already sold out, but individual tickets will be up for grabs at the end of May. All individual tickets for the U.S. Open go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 30 at 9 a.m. ET.
Official tickets are sold via Ticketmaster as long as supplies last. You can choose from day session tickets with reserved seats and first-come first-served access to selected general admission areas, or reserved seats for evening session matches.
There is an official resale marketplace, also powered by Ticketmaster, and you can also look for tickets on other resale sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats, and SeatGeek. These tickets are usually sold above market value, and the prices can increase astronomically the closer you get to the final matches.
Get U.S. Open tickets on Ticketmaster
Get U.S. Open tickets on VividSeats
Inside Arthur Ashe Stadium during the 2024 U.S. Open.
What tickets should you get?
Once you figure out how to buy tickets, next comes deciding which tickets you should actually choose. In some sports, it’s debatable where the best seats are. In soccer, it’s usually best to sit midfield and at least several rows back to have a better view of play across the pitch. In baseball, many fans will tell you to sit in the upper deck behind home plate.
In tennis, there is no arguing about it. You want to sit center court, as close as you possibly can. Of course, the closer you get to the court, the more expensive the tickets cost. And at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, there are four kinds of ticket options to consider:
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Day Session: Includes reserved seats for all day matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium, plus first-come, first-served access to general admission areas of Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand, and Field Courts.
Evening Session: Includes reserved seats for all evening matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Louis Armstrong Stadium
Day Session: Includes reserved seats for all day matches in Louis Armstrong Stadium, plus general admission access to Grandstand and Field Courts.
Evening Session: Includes reserved seats for all evening matches in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Grandstand Stadium
Day Session Only: Includes reserved seats for all day matches in Grandstand Stadium, with general admission access to Louis Armstrong Stadium and Field Courts. No ticketed evening sessions.
Grounds Pass
Day Session: Includes general admission access to the grounds, including Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand, and Field Courts.
Evening Session: Same access as day session, though available venues vary by date, so you’ll need to check the schedule before going.
The biggest matches of the Grand Slam will be in Arthur Ashe, but you can catch top-seeded players during both day and evening sessions. If you’re a die-hard tennis fan or really looking for the best action, that would be the place to go. But if you’re curious about tennis and just looking for a fun day out, a Grounds Pass isn’t a bad place to start.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at .
