The Waldorf Astoria New York in Midtown transformed its legendary ballroom into a tennis center for one night on Aug. 27.

Professional stars Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Leylah Fernandez and Maria Sakkari played matches in front of 400 onlookers.

This was a first for the ballroom, which has hosted everything from the first Tony Awards to the earliest Met Gala. Along those lines, Met Gala Chair Anna Wintour was in attendance at the matches. The hotel reopened last year after an eight-year renovation and restoration.

“This journey has always been transformational for us, you know, reopening the Waldorf Astoria and restoring this beautiful hotel has always been a journey of transformation. So we thought, ‘Why don’t we transform the Grand Ballroom into something no one has ever experienced before?'” said Luigi Romaniello, the managing director of the Waldorf. 

Throughout the US Open, the Lex Yard restaurant at the Waldorf will feature tennis-themed cocktails like the Racquet Club and the Backhand Ballroom, developed by the restaurant’s team.

“They felt like this was a fantastic representation of all of the amazing moments that are going to be happening in the building throughout this week, certainly a cocktail of the moment,” said Nick Bathurst, the director of food and beverage. 

There is food too, of course. NY1 tried the lobster club, based on a sandwich Chef Andrew Whitcomb ate growing up in Maine.

He would eat it visiting a restaurant on the coast with his grandmother. 

“It’s about a full pound and a half lobster inside the lobster club and usual suspects in there. We have really beautiful bacon through Heritage Pork USA, nice tomatoes, nice lettuce,” said Whitcomb. 

From Sept. 8 to Sept. 13, the Waldorf has transformed Lex Yard into The Racquet Club at Lex Yard, with live match viewing and special food and beverage offerings, wrapping up with a watch party for the men’s final on Sunday.

It’s all part of a global platform called the Waldorf Astoria Racquet Club, bringing together sports, hospitality, style and culture at Waldorf locations around the world.