US Open Fan Week runs Monday, August 18, through Friday, August 22, 2026, at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Gates open at 10 a.m. each day. You walk in free. You watch pros hit on practice courts. You see the grounds, the food plaza, the merchandise stands. You do not see a match. The tournament proper starts Saturday, August 23, when tickets cost money and the schedule gets serious.
Text Karpo now for live subway timing from your neighborhood to Mets–Willets Point, plus a backup plan if the 7 train stalls or crowds spike mid-afternoon.
What Fan Week actually gives you
Fan Week is a dress rehearsal with public access. Players reserve practice courts in two-hour blocks. Some show up early, some skip entirely, some hit for twenty minutes and leave. The USTA posts a loose practice schedule each morning on its website and on boards near the main entrance, but it shifts. If you arrive hoping to watch one specific player, you may wait an hour or leave disappointed. If you arrive ready to wander, eat a pretzel, and catch whoever is out there, Fan Week works fine.
The outer practice courts sit in full sun. The shaded grandstand practice court near Arthur Ashe Stadium fills first. By noon on a weekday, the benches around Court 17 and the back courts are half-empty; by 2 p.m. on Thursday or Friday, when weekend crowds start arriving early, those same benches are standing-room. Go before lunch or after 4 p.m. if you want a seat without elbowing.
Subway or car: neither is fast
The 7 train from Manhattan to Mets–Willets Point takes 35 to 45 minutes from Times Square, longer if you catch a local instead of an express. The express skips stops between Queensboro Plaza and Junction Boulevard; the local does not. Check the overhead sign before you board. At Mets–Willets Point, follow the pedestrian bridge east into the park. The tennis center entrance is a ten-minute walk on paved paths. Signs are clear. Crowds are thinner than during the tournament, but the walk is the same.
If you drive, parking at Citi Field lots costs around twenty dollars, sometimes more depending on what the Mets are doing that week. Verify the rate on the day. Traffic on the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck backs up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays when schools let out and lunch delivery peaks. The Long Island Expressway westbound slows near the Clearview exit most afternoons. Leaving after 5 p.m. puts you in rush hour on every route back to Manhattan or Long Island City. The subway is slower than you want, but it is predictable.
The 7 train runs local after 10 p.m. most nights. If you stay past 6 p.m., confirm the schedule on the MTA site or ask the booth agent at Mets–Willets Point before you walk back. A local 7 adds fifteen minutes to your ride home. The last express typically leaves around 9:30 p.m., but service changes happen. Plan the return before you go.
What you pay, what you bring
Admission is free. Food is not. A bottle of water runs four or five dollars. A sandwich or salad costs twelve to sixteen. Beer costs more. The food plaza inside the grounds has the same vendors that work the tournament: empanadas, barbecue, lobster rolls, ice cream. Prices are stadium prices. You can leave the grounds and re-enter the same day if you want to eat cheaper outside the gate, but the walk back to Roosevelt Avenue for a bodega or taco truck takes twenty minutes each way.
Bags larger than twelve by twelve by sixteen inches are not allowed. The USTA checks bags at the gate. Small backpacks and totes pass. Bring sunscreen, a hat, and a refillable water bottle. Water fountains and refill stations are near the restrooms by Court 17 and the main food plaza. Sunglasses help. There is almost no shade on the outer courts before 4 p.m.
If you want to buy US Open merchandise, the official store is inside the grounds near the south entrance. Prices are tournament retail: a T-shirt costs thirty to forty dollars, a hat twenty-five to thirty-five. The same items show up cheaper at sporting-goods stores in Manhattan or online after the tournament ends, but selection during Fan Week is widest.
Timing and what to confirm before you go
Check the USTA website the night before and again the morning of your visit. The practice schedule posts by 9 a.m. each day, sometimes earlier. It lists which players have reserved courts and approximate times. It does not guarantee anyone will show or stay. If a player pulls out of the tournament or tweaks a muscle, the schedule changes without warning. Fan Week is free because it is informal.
Weekday mornings are quieter. Monday and Tuesday draw smaller crowds than Thursday and Friday, when people start taking half-days or arrive early for the weekend. If you want to move between courts without waiting, go Tuesday or Wednesday before noon. If you want the buzz of a bigger crowd and don't mind standing, Thursday afternoon works. Saturday is the first day of the tournament and requires a ticket; Fan Week ends Friday.
The weather in late August in Queens is hot and humid. Afternoon thunderstorms roll through without much warning. If lightning is spotted, the grounds clear and practice stops until the all-clear. There is no rain date for Fan Week. If it pours, you leave. The tennis center has covered walkways, but the practice courts are open-air. Bring a light rain jacket or check the hourly forecast before you leave home.
If you drink beer at the food plaza, plan your ride home before you order a second. The 7 train is crowded and has no bathroom. The ride back to Manhattan or Long Island City is long. Uber and Lyft pick up near the Mets–Willets Point subway entrance, but surge pricing kicks in after 5 p.m. and during rain. A ride to Long Island City runs twenty to thirty dollars in surge, less if you wait fifteen minutes for the peak to drop. The subway is cheaper and runs every eight to twelve minutes most of the day.
Practical notes
- Gates open 10 a.m. daily, August 18–22, 2026; admission is free, but food and merchandise cost stadium prices.
- Take the 7 train to Mets–Willets Point; express trains save ten minutes, but check the sign before boarding.
- Outer practice courts have no shade before 4 p.m.; bring sunscreen, a hat, and a refillable water bottle.
- Practice schedules post by 9 a.m. each day on the USTA website and shift without warning; confirm before you leave.
- Afternoon thunderstorms can clear the grounds with no rain date; check the hourly forecast and bring a light jacket.
- If you drink, plan a safe ride home before you start; the 7 train has no bathroom and the ride is 40+ minutes.
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Sources consulted: USTA US Open official site · MTA 7 train schedule
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Ask Karpo first
Text Karpo before you head out to confirm the practice schedule posted that morning, check live 7 train timing from your stop, and get a backup route if the subway is delayed or the weather turns. Karpo will also remind you when the last express train leaves Mets–Willets Point so you don't get stuck on a local after 10 p.m.
