Mixed Doubles Championship<\/a> presented by Vital Proteins, we\u2019ve added an extra day of mixed doubles qualifying that fans can watch for free.<\/p>\n\n\tAlong with creating more low- to no-cost tennis events for visitors, the tournament also has expanded its activities and entertainment around the Open.<\/p>\n
\n\tMusic lovers have multiple free opportunities on the grounds\u2014a stellar lineup on Fountain Plaza stage, the pulsing headphones at the U.S. Open silent disco party and DJ sets during the U.S. Open block party. The Savannah Bananas will play tennis on Arthur Ashe Kids\u2019 Day. Marvel fans also get a piece of the action, with 45,000 limited-edition, New York City-themed Spider-Man comic books available for free during the week.<\/p>\n
\n\tJust as important as the experience on the grounds, we\u2019re also bringing the U.S. Open to fans beyond Queens with a series of activations celebrating the event\u2019s New York connection.<\/p>\n
\n\tTo bolster the 2026 theme of \u201cCelebrating our New York story,\u201d the USTA has created a slew of immersive, fan-friendly and free activations throughout the five boroughs.<\/p>\n
\n\tRunning the first week of the singles main draw, the U.S. Open Experience is a free, public event in Manhattan\u2019s Hudson Yards that gives fans the chance to pick up a racket\u2014perhaps for the first time\u2014and play Red Ball tennis on two 40-foot sport courts. Gamers can show off their skills with tennis-themed video games in titles like Fortnite and Roblox. Everyone will have the chance to strut through a replicated player tunnel like the one in Arthur Ashe Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThroughout the five boroughs, the first-ever U.S. Open ice cream truck will be dishing out free scoops at public park tennis courts.<\/p>\n
\n\tFrom anywhere in the world, fans can tune into the U.S. Open\u2019s YouTube channel and watch \u201cRally the Boroughs,\u201d a five-episode competition series that follows three teams of tennis enthusiasts through New York as they solve clues and overcome unique challenges, with the winning team earning tickets to the 2026 singles finals.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe U.S. Open is a premier sports and entertainment spectacle, and the event reached that lofty level thanks to the support of its incredible fan base. These new activations and free offerings are designed precisely with those fans in mind\u2014the ones who come back year after year, those cheering on from their homes, and those new fans we have yet to meet. We\u2019ve worked hard to ensure that spectacular truly awaits all of them.<\/p>\n
\n\tNicole Kankam is the managing director, pro tennis marketing and entertainment, for the United States Tennis Association, where she oversees all marketing and entertainment for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. She\u2019s led numerous award-winning marketing campaigns for the U.S. Open that have driven record-setting ticket sales and fan engagement while championing social responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s guest column is from Nicole Kankam, managing director of pro tennis marketing and entertainment for the United…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[40464,9,24,63,122,124,123,78669,24332],"class_list":["post-325715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-fans","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-u-s-open","tag-usta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}