Taking Back Sunday

Following a tennis trend of more-is-more, the U.S. Open will join other majors in starting on the weekend.

A Sunday sunset at the U.S. Open (Photo by Ben Rothenberg)

The U.S. Open announced today that it is following the other three tennis majors in expanding its main draw footprint for the first time in its 2025 edition, stretching its first round schedule from two days to three days by starting main draw play on Sunday instead of Monday.

In a press release announcing the change, the U.S. Tennis Association framed the Sunday start as an obvious market adjustment: an increase in supply to meet booming demand.

“The USTA today announced that after a third consecutive year of extraordinary demand and record-breaking attendance in 2024, the US Open Main Draw will expand to 15 competition days in 2025. This year’s US Open will feature the first weekend start to the Main Draw in the Open Era, beginning on Sunday, August 24, and running through Sunday, September 7. With more planned Main Draw competition days than ever and Fan Week featuring six days of free grounds admission prior to the Main Draw, the 2025 US Open is set to offer the most access for fans in the event’s 145-year history. The full, three-week US Open will run from August 18-September 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

The men’s and women’s singles first rounds will be played Sunday-Tuesday in 2025, with the Sunday start offering Main Draw access for an additional 70,000-plus attendees. Opening Sunday will have six new ticketed sessions available – day and night sessions for reserved seats in both Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium and day-session tickets for Grandstand reserved and Grounds Admission. No further adjustments to the Singles Main Draw schedule after the first round are planned.

There’s a surprising amount to unpack about this one-day shift, the history of this trend, and what ripple effects it will have on the sport going forward. As you’ll read below, there’s a lot of winners and losers to sort through from this move.

So to dive into all of that and more—breaking an unusual streak of five consecutive free posts here at Bounces—please do join me below the paywall!

Thank you for reading Bounces! To read the rest of this 2,000+-word post, and lots of other in-depth stuff at Bounces, please become a paid subscriber. -Ben