‘Like a Tsunami’ – Organizers Elated After Serena Williams’ Retirement News Shot up Record Ticket Sales at the US Open

Yesterday, the tennis world received one of the most shocking news of the year, as legendary tennis player Serena Williams announced her retirement after the US Open. Since her announcement, social media was flooded with messages congratulating the champion player on an amazing career.

In the meantime, the ticket sales at the US Open skyrocketed after Serena’s announcement. Recently, a spokesperson from the USTA (United States Tennis Association) spoke about the ticket sales, which are breaking all sorts of records.

Serena Williams’ retirement news increases the ticket sales at the US Open

The USTA spokesperson, Chris Widmaier, said, “You talk about the Serena effect, it’s like a tsunami.“

Later, he gave some numbers about the ticket sales for the first three days, which has been staggering. “Since people have learned of the news, we’ve sold, as of 3 p.m. [Tuesday], 13,000 tickets to the Open, including 4,500 or thereabouts for opening night,” Widmaier further said. 

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Although the draw is not out for the US Open, people are still buying tickets to see the 23-time Grand Slam champion for possibly one last time. However, we still don’t know whether she will play on the opening night. Hence, the ticket sales are pretty high for the first three days of the tournament.

Notably, the Arthur Ashe Stadium has a capacity of 23,771 people.

Serena’s emotional goodbye to tennis

Yesterday, Serena penned down an emotional essay in the September issue of Vogue magazine, where she talked about evolving away from tennis after the US Open, as she never liked the word retirement.

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In that essay, she talked about having another baby, as Olympia wanted to become a big sister, which is one of the reasons she is moving away from tennis. Moreover, she thanked all her fans for sticking with her through the years.

Currently, the American tennis star is playing at the National Bank Open in Canada, as she reached the round of 32. Today, she will play the Swiss tennis player Belinda Bencic, which will be a tough match for Serena for sure.

Can Serena win the National Bank Open before the US Open? Let us know in the comments.