Stopping at the US Open

The US Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Queens, New York City and is the fourth and final of the four Grand Slam tennis events, along with the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.  The tournament is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world and starts on the last Monday in August.

The tournament was first held in 1881 on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, now home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  In 1915, it was relocated to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hill, Queens and in 1978, the tournament moved to the newly-constructed USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens and, at that time, the court surfaces switched from clay to hardcourt.  The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played every year since its inception.

We are passing through New York during the US Open and take the subway to Queens for a day at the tennis center.

US Open grounds

Celebrating the Power of Tennis

We wander the grounds,  enter a few of the stadiums, and watch some tennis.  The grounds have 22 outdoor courts:  four large show courts, thirteen field courts, and five practice courts.  The main court is the 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, opened in 1997 and named after Arthur Ashe who won the men's singles title in 1968.  The next largest is the 14,061-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium, opened in 2018.

Courts

Arthur Ashe Stadium

Louis Armstrong Stadium

Tennis in action

In 2025, more than one million fans attended the US Open across the tournament's full three weeks and 832,640 attended for the two weeks of the Main Draw.

We visit on an early-in-the-tournament weekday with no major matches scheduled, giving us a great opportunity to explore the complex without the large crowds, have lunch, watch a few matches, and take the subway back into Manhattan.

Passing Through New York City

We're on our way back to one of our favorite places in the world:  Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre, Italy.  But first, we stop in New York City for a quick visit and a trip to the US Open tennis tournament.  We check into our hotel and stroll around the city, first heading over to the High Line, the 1.45 mile (2.3 km) elevated park, greenway, and trail on the former New York Central Railroad spur in western  Manhattan.  The High Line was inspired by the 4.7 km (2.9 mile) long Coulée Verte René-Dumont in Paris over which we strolled five years ago.

First we pass Vessel, a structure in the Hudson Yards rising 150 feet (46 meters) and consisting of 154 flights of stairs, 2,500 steps, and 80 landings for visitors to climb.

Vessel

We stroll the High Line for a mile or so, then head up to Times Square.

Along the High Line

Heading up to Times Square

Times Square is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street and is one of the world's busiest pedestrian areas with an estimated 50 million visitors annually.  The square is full of numerous huge digital billboards and advertisements.

Times Square

The sun sets and we continue northwest past Times Square over to one of our favorite restaurants in New York, Briciola on West 51st Street in Hell's Kitchen (Midtown West).  We start with octopus salad and burrata with tomato, followed by lobster ravioli, orecchiette with Italian sausage and broccoli rabe, and spicy shrimp with rigatoni.

Briciola

Starters

Main courses

After a great meal and a night's sleep, we stroll through the just-getting-started-in-the-morning city to Central Park and wander through the park.

Morning stroll in Central Park

Leaving the park, we walk down Fifth Avenue, admiring the store windows at Bergdorf Goodman, then past Saint Patrick's Cathedral and on to Rockefeller Center.

Bergdorf Goodman

Saint Patrick's

Rockefeller Center

We continue walking south to our hotel in the Garment District in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, a little more than 2 miles (3 km) south of Central Park.

On the Bike Path in Woodinville, WA

Woodinville and the surrounding communities have many bike trails, some along the Sammamish River, others leading all the way to Seattle (21 bike miles (34 km) away).  The Sammamish River Trail follows the river past parks, farms, and vineyards.  Our hotel (and the Chateau Ste Michelle winery where we have lunch and then attend a Lyle Lovett concert in the evening) are near the river in the middle of this trail.  We borrow bicycles from the hotel and start peddling.

Along the bike trail

Along the trail are parks, fields, wineries, playgrounds, and other interesting places to stop and explore.

Places to stop

Fun bridge

Arriving back at our hotel, Willows Lodge, we return our bicycles and explore the extensive and intriguing grounds of the hotel.

Hotel grounds

And, as we explore, we run across a few interesting, whimsical, signs.

Hotel signs

This has been a fun overnight trip to Woodinville: a winery visit, a great concert, and some exploration!