Our reporter on the ground Emma Paton has been enjoying a bagel with last year’s US Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka and spending the day with British No 1 Katie Boulter ahead of the action at Flushing Meadows…
Fan Week is one of the most unique parts of the US Open. The main tournament might start on Monday but effectively the final Grand Slam of the year is three weeks long… how lucky are we!?
For the first time in US Open history, Fan Week was a whole seven days, meaning spectators could come to Flushing Meadows free of charge and get a little taste of what the US Open is all about.
Throughout the week we had exhibition matches – what’s not to like about Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe teaming up to school Carlos Alcaraz and Andre Agassi? We had the legend that is Billie Jean King hitting balls with reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, plus Andy Roddick serving like it was 2004 not 2024.
OK, it wasn’t quite a private booth at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, but we still got up close and personal with the two-time Australian Open champion.
Sabalenka was launching her ‘Power Serve’ Acai bowl and we decided to go along for the launch. We had a lengthy chat with the world No 2, who 12 hours before had picked up the title in Cincinnati, and then tried some of the healthy goodness on offer.
Along with posing for pictures and signing fan autographs, Sabalenka also whipped up some Acai bowls herself – I’ve definitely had worse Tuesday mornings!
..of Katie Boulter!
Well, this was a new experience. We were lucky enough to follow the British No 1 around for the day, which I must admit, with the many training sessions involved, was pretty tiring.
From riding over to Queens with her and her team, to sitting courtside while she practised on Arthur Ashe we got a real window into life at a Grand Slam.
After another solid year on tour, it was great to see Katie in the throws of preparing for the final major of the year. We spoke at length about the highs and lows of 2024, and of course I got her go-to coffee spots in the city…priorities!
This really was mayhem. Organised mayhem.
We started the two-day media bonanza by speaking to world No 10 Grigor Dimitrov, and 30 players later, we ended it with the defending men’s champion, Novak Djokovic.
There were some brilliant interviews throughout the two days – Dominic Thiem spoke to us about saying goodbye to the sport, Emma Raducanu told us about finding her way back to it. We heard from Iga Swiatek on her rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka and from Andrey Rublev on his rivalry with himself.
There was such a buzz with the players passing through to chat to us and the two days were a great insight into how the players are feeling ahead of the last Grand Slam of the year.
It’s been some week, and the tournament hasn’t even started yet.
Roll on Monday!
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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