By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
One of the best parts of the U.S. Open tennis championships happens before the main event starts…and that’s the qualifying tournament.
And in 2024, it will start a day earlier.
The schedule for the 2024 U.S. Open has been posted on the event’s USOpen.org website showing that the qualifying rounds will start on Monday, August 19 and end on Thursday, August 22. For years, the four-day qualifying tournament started on a Tuesday and concluded on a Friday. The exception was in 2019 when it was held over five days, but following the global COVID pandemic, it returned to a four-day event starting on a Tuesday when the qualifying tournament resumed in 2021.
The U.S. Open qualifying tournament features draws of 128 men and 128 women who play three rounds to determine 16 final spots in the respective men’s and women’s singles tournaments. It is very popular with fans because it is free for the public to attend. Recently, the U.S. Tennis Association has promoted the qualifying week, mixed in with other on-sight promotions including the opportunity to watch the big name players practice, as “Fan Week.” The USTA announced that it will kick off the week with a Sunday night concert in Louis Armstrong Stadium with Dierks Bentley, as you can read about here https://tennisgrandstand.com/2024/06/11/dierks-bentley-to-kick-off-us-opens-fan-week-on-louis-armstrong-stadium/
The positives for U.S. Open qualifying to start on Monday are as follows;
- It adds in a buffer day before the start of the main draw of the event on Monday, August 26, allowing for qualifiers to have an extra day of rest before the start of the main draw. In 2023, some of the qualifying round finals were pushed into a Saturday finish due to rain, which also conflicted with the U.S. Tennis Associations Arthur Ashe Kids Day celebrations and activities on site. If there was rain during the week of qualifying, matches could be pushed off until Friday or Saturday and still finish on time before the start of the main draw.
- The USTA could also potentially make the main draws of the tournament on the Friday of qualifying week, after it is concluded, so it can place all the names in the draw when it is made and publicly announced, rather than just announcing that a player will play a “qualifier” and have that name placed in a draw later after the conclusion of the qualifying tournament. The USTA could also make the draw ceremony more of a public event on the grounds that Friday, which would fit in well in the USTA’s “Fan Week” promotion that week, where fans have free admission to the grounds all week. It also opens up that Friday for the USTA to host any number of exhibition events that they have showcased in the past, or potentially a charity fund-raiser which has been put on in the past, benefitting Ukraine, for example.
- Also, ending the qualifying tournament a day early also opens up considerable practice courts for main draw players who are at full capacity in the days just before the start of the main draw. It gets very crowded on site at the U.S. Open between the player lounge and the practice courts, so getting players from the qualifying rounds off site earlier, helps free up space for the main draw players.
- While the USTA announced the start of the main draw of the 2024 U.S. Open as Monday, August 26, there has been much speculation that the organization will eventually follow the lead of Roland Garros and the Australian Open and start the event on a Sunday. By ending the qualifying rounds on Thursday, it would provide two entire days before a Sunday start of the U.S. Open so qualifiers would have some rest before potentially having to play on that opening Sunday. A Sunday start would to create an additional weekend day of revenue, making it easier for fans to go to the event without taking a day off of work and spreading out the first round of matches that can help players (and be a buffer against a potential rain out event). According to Amazon’s Alexa, the Sunday start at the U.S. Open was supposed to start in 2024, as you can read about here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/23158
It does seem peculiar that the U.S. Open qualifying would start on a Tuesday and not a Monday, when traditional events start. However, this was due to the fact that players had to actually sign in and register for the event in person for the tournament. Therefore, a buffer day was inserted so players playing in Challengers the week before would have time to arrive on site and physically sign in for the tournament. Now, players do not need to physically sign in so the event can start on Monday.
Watch our video on the 2023 U.S. Open here: “What It’s Like To Be At U.S. Open Tennis – A Tour https://youtu.be/108Novikvu8?si=wgIm_dksYbUvuTpZ
Some of my past stories about U.S. Open qualifying can be found below.
Why U.S. Open Qualifying Is Like The Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Movie “The Social Network” https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22349
An Afternoon and Evening at U.S. Open Qualifying https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/21215
Players From World’s Two Most Populous Nations, Playing Side-By-Side, Showcase U.S. Open Qualifying Round Fan Diversity https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22366
Main Draw Anticipation, Uber-Competitive Matches And Fan Amenities Make U.S. Open Qualifying Perhaps The Tournament’s Best Week — And It’s Free! https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/17208
