NEW YORK — When Pat Cash first arrived at the US Open as a junior in 1982, the sensory assault was immediate. The former Wimbledon champion recalled a thick cloud of smoke billowing from a hot dog stand near the courts, a memory he shared during BBC radio commentary this week. “It was crazy,” he said.
The atmosphere did not deter Cash, who captured the boys’ title that year and reached the men’s semifinals in 1984, competing in the original “Super Saturday” format that packed both men’s semifinals and the women’s final into a single day.
While Roland Garros cultivates chic, Wimbledon enforces tradition, and the Australian Open earns its “Happy Slam” moniker, the US Open distinguishes itself through raw intensity. The tournament serves a distinct cocktail: the aroma of grilled burgers, the roar of jets from nearby LaGuardia Airport, and, since New York legalized cannabis in 2021, the frequent scent of marijuana drifting across the grounds. An ambient buzz permeates the site from first serve to final point.
“It’s a lot, right?” Alex de Minaur said Wednesday, reflecting on his initial visit.
Everything about the tournament feels amplified. Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion, identified the noise as the steepest adjustment of her career. She recalled a night-session debut against Serena Williams where the volume inside Arthur Ashe Stadium was relentless. “They call your name, you get in, and you look up, and it’s not stopping,” Kerber said at a Rolex-hosted media briefing. “It was amazing. And of course, the changeover—when a DJ plays music and cameras scan the crowd—is like a party. I really enjoyed it a lot, not only Ashe, but also the outside courts. It’s really loud. And you could smell the burgers and stuff.”
Aircraft noise has plagued the tournament since its Forest Hills days, but the 1978 move to Flushing Meadows intensified the issue. The roar of engines often drowned out the sound of ball striking strings, a critical auditory cue for players judging pace and spin. Intervention from then-Mayor David Dinkins in the early 1990s eventually forced a rerouting of flight paths during the fortnight.
Even with mitigated flight paths, the din can overwhelm. Britain’s Arthur Fery resorted to earplugs multiple times during his first-round loss to Lorenzo Musetti. While he has used them at other events, the necessity felt acute in New York. “I keep them in the bag and I take them out when I feel like I need them,” said Fery, a Wimbledon semifinalist this summer. “When I’m getting frustrated or a bit irritated or feel like it’s just loud around. With the quick turnaround from Winston-Salem and everything, I felt like I wasn’t fully recovered, so I made an effort at the start of the match to try and put them in, block out the noise at changeovers, try to get myself to focus on my tennis rather than what was around.”
In recent years, the scent of concessions has competed with the smell of cannabis, particularly on outside courts bordering Corona Park. Several players have lodged complaints regarding the latter.
Yet many embrace the chaos. Ben Shelton called the New York energy unparalleled. “It’s the only time in our sport that you get to hear 20,000 people screaming your name,” he said. “The sport’s culture here in New York is something that you don’t experience anywhere else in the world and that’s why this is the greatest tournament and tennis stadium in the world.”
De Minaur advocates for balance, noting he has curated a quieter existence off-site this year. “Over the years, I’ve learned what I like and what I don’t like about the city,” he said. “This year, for the first time, we’re staying in a different area, a little bit more quiet. I’m always trying to find the quiet, chilled out places wherever I go.” As for the burger aroma? “Well, if I am allowed to have a burger, it’s all good,” he added.
