I’ve never purchased
tickets for the semi-finals or finals of any major tennis events. I do this for
the lesser events of course, where the cost of tickets doesn’t break my bank.
But for Majors and Slams, I always attend only during the first week.
My reasons are two-fold.
First, this gives me a chance to see as many players as possible. At the US
Open, for example, I have the option of purchasing tickets to the Arthur Ashe
Stadium, which gives me access to the grounds as well as to the action at Louis
Armstrong. Sure, I occasionally have to choose between matches, but if I attend
over several days, I have the chance of seeing as many of my faves as possible.
I even get to see some of the newbies on the junior courts.
But there is a second
reason why I only attend the first week of major events – I simply can’t afford
to do otherwise. Tennis is an expensive sport, for everyone involved. And, as I
have written about before, tournament directors would apparently prefer to have
empty seats shown on TV than drop their prices. And part of the reason for this
may be because they know that the rich folks will turn out in their numbers for
the semi-finals and finals. Not an empty seat in the house. So what tournament
directors lose on the swing, they end up gaining on the roundabout, as they say
in the Caribbean.