How difficult it is to obtain tickets for the US Open? Should we buy them ahead of time before arriving in NY (on the internet perhaps if this is possible) to ensure that we get something or could we just pick them up as and when we want to see the tennis except for the finals of course which I am sure will sell out quickly. We want to attend some of the games but as we will be in town for approx 10 days, we clearly want to do more than just tennis and do not want to our schedule to be too inflexible. Thanks in advance for your help.

Anyone?

I went to the Open in 2001, having bought tickets well in advance (as a USTA member). However, I believe that grounds passes (which provide access to ALL matches except those in Ashe Stadium) are generally available even on the day you are going. You can get them online through Ticketmaster.

If you don't mind not attending the marquee matches in Ashe Stadium (which aren't even posted until the day of play), the grounds pass is an excellent way to get the flavor of the sport. You get access to Armstrong -- also a stadium court -- and all other courts on the grounds. For tournaments, I also like to attend before the quarterfinals, as there are a lot more matches (and hence, a lot more players) to watch -- though admittedly, I am a serious fan and regular player who enjoys watching the lower-ranked players as much as the big names.

Overall, it's a first class experience and very worthwhile, even for the casual fan.

us-opentickets.com

Unfortunately, I don't think you will get any decent seats in Arthur Ashe stadium at this point. Usually sold out by mid May, about an hour after they go on sale. Only thing that will be available are nose bleeders, which are horrible for watching tennis (poor perspective and problems seeing the ball). You might want to go and try to scalp tickets at the stadium. That is how we get in.

one of the best experiences i had was taking a girlfriend back in the 80's to the open -- without tickets! we just hung around the parking lot and there were so many people who had extra tix. these days, i don't recommend that, i recommend going to ebay. you'll probably pay a hefty premium, but with all the ticketmaster fees and surcharges you are really not looking at that big a difference.