With some help from Challengers, private suites at the 2024 US Open are a hot commodity.
The annual Grand Slam tournament is underway at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, and VIPs are taking centre court at this year’s star-studded sporting event. According to the United States Tennis Association, tickets for the two-week championship—which sold out in April—have already surpassed last year’s record-setting 799,402 attendees, CNN reported. Plus, private suite sales are on track to exceed the 2023 tournament as well, with some high-rolling fans shelling out upwards of US$100,000 (HK$779,525) for box seats. And yes, Zendaya’s tennis flick might have something to do with it.
“Coming out of Covid-19, the growth of tennis has gone way up,” Shiz Suzuki, vice president for global brand sponsorships and experimental marketing for American Express, explained to CNN. “Similarly, the fandom of tennis has gone up. Some of the audience has gotten younger and some of the audience is a new audience that perhaps has not tuned in before.”
The US Open notoriously draws a crowd of famous, deep-pocketed faces from Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet to Charlize Theron and the Obamas. Starry spectators, whether they’re invited by sponsors or paying big bucks for one of the stadium’s 90 exclusive lounges, can enjoy a slew of perks from multiple big-screen TVs to plush seats, swanky amenities, and gourmet cuisine.
For example, Emirates Airlines is dishing out decadent seafood towers, Champagne, and caviar. Elsewhere, Grey Goose, the tournament’s vodka sponsor, has an open bar serving up the iconic Honey Deuce cocktail—a mix of vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and honeydew melon balls that’s become a signature of the US Open.
“That’s one of the things that’s unique about the US Open versus other tennis tournaments is that really is like an elevated affair,” Aleco Azqueta, vice president of marketing for Grey Goose, told CNN. “Our suite is the place now to see and be seen. We actually get a lot of requests from celebrities for limited spots. It comes down to brand fit and someone that genuinely wants to be there and enjoy the event.”
Last year, Grey Goose welcomed Emily Blunt and John Krasinski to its 1,400-square-foot suite along with actor-director Zach Braff. Elsewhere, Emirates invited Justin and Hailey Bieber, Nicole Kidman (Nine Perfect Strangers), New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlin, and Zendaya herself to its lounge.
“It’s always exciting to see photos of stars enjoying the space and putting our brand in the spotlight as they enjoy the matches,” Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates’s divisional vice president for US and Canada, told CNN.
For now, we’ll be keeping tabs on which celebs get in on the action this year.
