If you’re looking forward to celebrating Labor Day weekend in Flushing Meadows, you might have to rethink your plans. Yes, 2023 winner Novak Djokovic is playing the last major of the year (so far confirmed) in an injury-riddled season. And yes, Coco Gauff will be defending her crown along with a host of other American stars taking the stage. But the 2024 US Open has stirred up fan controversy with its ticket pricing.

The 144th edition of the game is set to begin on August 26, with the qualifying draw having already begun on August 19. Exhibition matches, part of Fan Week, are taking place as well. Just two days ago, tennis power couple Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa were crowned champions of the Mixed Madness, where they defeated home favorites Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff.

Per Forbes, around 700,000 fans are expected in New York City for the US Open that begins in three days, but those numbers might vary if tennis Twitter is anything to go by. For the Fan Week, almost all events are free and open for spectators to attend. But if you’re looking to purchase tickets for the two-week long major, as many of these fans did, you might be in for some disappointment.

Despite huge expected attendance numbers, tennis fans in disagreement with US Open ticket prices

The US Open arguably takes place in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But given the popular nature of the tournament, one might expect reasonable prices for the masses to attend. This fan certainly did, as they wrote on X, “Did I complain about the sounds pass price on Monday? Look at the prices fro Friday first week. Insane. I was also told that this year, when people try to buy tickets as soon as they were released, tickets were gone rapidly. Something is not right about it, specially because Us Open makes Ticketmaster their office ticket re seller and the prices have been extremely high.”

If you go to the US Open website to buy tickets, it redirects you to Ticketmaster after you’ve selected the match you want to see. Last minute tickets for the first day, Aug 26, begin at $140 and go up to $183, depending on the stadium. But as one fan pointed out, last year’s numbers were lower, “So SAD and true. I booked my plane tickets and hotel since may, in order to get good prices, only to find out 1st round tickets are $250 compared to $70 from last year. 3 days to the event and i still don’t have tickets.“

Currently, first-round resale tickets start at $121 for a day session and $203 for an evening session. One fan confirmed, “I confirm just a few hours on the first day of sale and also pre sale for Amex clients, all the tickets for first week on Arthur Ashe and Ground passes were all at resale price that was multiplied per 3!”

Of course, it’s a given that as the tournament goes on prices will only soar, especially as the date to the finals, women’s on Sept 7 and men’s on Sept 8 comes closer. And yet, one fan couldn’t help but reminisce upon times from almost 15 years ago. “The first year I went as a fan, 2007, grounds passes were $35 all in. Made it affordable to take a family to watch some amazing tennis and experience all that the Open has to offer. We even lucked out and had someone give us their Ashe tix as they left early. #goodoldays”

Another pointed out how Ticketmaster might be taking some advantage here. They brought up the example of Serena Williams, whose last match at the iconic arena before she retired took place here in 2022. “And Ticketmaster is a sponsor. It’s the scalpers. The discovered the Open when Serena evolved in 2022 and haven’t let it go. Lots of new fans who will pay, not realizing these prices are obscene.”

It’s T-Minus 3 days from the main event and many might miss out on the chance to experience the magic of the blue hard courts live. They’ll have to do it like the rest of us do, and sit glued to the TV!