Tennis Fan Travel

• ›Grounds passes. In week one a single grounds ticket can put you within a few metres of highly ranked players on an outer court, which no show court seat matches for proximity.
• ›The fortnight structure. A major runs for two weeks, so a trip can be built around any window rather than one fixed date.
• ›Day and night sessions. At several events these are separate tickets and feel like different events, with different crowds and different atmospheres.
• ›The host cities. New York, London, Paris and Melbourne are destinations regardless of the tennis, which makes a major an easy trip to sell to a non-fan travelling companion.
• ›Entry traditions. The Wimbledon Queue and the US Open Fan Week are experiences in themselves, and both are documented publicly by the organisers.

Why you plan around the event, not the name

Draws are made only a day or two before play begins, and the order of play for each day is published the evening before, so you cannot reliably book a trip around watching one player. Buy for the session and the grounds rather than the name, and treat any specific match as a bonus. In week one, checking the next day’s order of play the night before is the single most useful planning habit at a major.

What catches people out

• ›Week one grounds passes are the best value in major tennis. Week two grounds passes are usually not worth it, since play consolidates onto ticketed show courts.
• ›Some grand slams allocate tickets by public ballot months ahead. Others operate same-day queues with their own long-standing published rules.
• ›Night sessions require a separate ticket at several events. Check whether your ticket covers one session or the full day.
• ›Outdoor events lose days to rain. Check the refund or rescheduling policy for your specific session before booking non-refundable travel around it.
• ›Plan for sun, water and shade. A grounds day at a summer major is six to ten hours outdoors, and the queues for water and food peak between matches.
• ›Check the bag policy and the re-entry rule before you arrive. Leaving to drop a bag can cost you a place in a court queue.

Do not chase the biggest names on your first trip. A week-one grounds pass gives you more tennis, closer, for less money than a show court seat in week two, and the outer courts are where you can stand a few metres from the play. Arrive at the gates early, pick a court and stay with it rather than court-hopping all day, and read the order of play the night before so you know which outer courts are worth being at first thing.

Tennis guide topics

• ›Grounds pass versus show court tickets
• ›Day session and night session planning
• ›Queueing systems and ballot entry
• ›Getting to the venue on peak days
• ›Weather contingencies and roof policies
• ›Outer court strategy and order of play