US Open ticket prices: Are sports tickets becoming unaffordable?

For devoted tennis fans, the Ground Pass remains the purest way to experience a Grand Slam. At the US Open, as at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, it opens access to roughly 20 courts where matches take place each day.

The pass does not include the two or three main stadiums, so spectators may miss the biggest stars. Yet even the pricier tickets for those venues often show the headline players from far away. The Ground Pass offers a different reward: a chance to see almost everyone outside the top five and to stand close to the action on the smaller courts.

That proximity can be humbling. Anyone who has privately imagined having a technically sound forehand may reconsider within seconds of finding themselves close enough for a selfie beside a world-class professional.

But the attraction is becoming harder to afford. After the FIFA World Cup and the NBA Finals caused dismay with extremely high prices this summer, the US Open has now joined the trend. The article presents that development as the beginning of a dangerous direction for sports fans and tennis in the United States.