Charter a Private Jet to the US Open Tennis

It’s the pièce de résistance of professional tennis.

The annual Grand Slam’s grand finale.

The U.S. Open.

Three tournaments in other corners of the world lead up to it.

First comes the Australian Open in mid-January.

Then, the French Open in May and June.

Wimbledon is played on grass in June and July.

And, at summer’s end, the best players in the world swing their rackets at the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open. Held in August and September every year, it draws a million fans over the course of two weeks of competition at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the New York City borough of Queens.

We Can Get You There

Paramount Business Jets can arrange a flight into any one of several airports located near the 46-acre Flushing Meadows tennis complex.

• La Guardia Airport, KLGA, LGA, New York, United States (2 miles)
• East 34th Street Heliport, N6N5, 6N5, New York, United States (6 miles)
• West 30th St Heliport, KJRA, JRA, New York, United States (8 miles)
• John F Kennedy International Airport, KJFK, JFK, New York, United States (8 miles)
• Wall Street Heliport, KJRB, New York City, United States (9 miles)
• Teterboro Airport, KTEB, TEB, Teterboro, United States (13 miles)
• Newark Liberty International Airport, KEWR, EWR, Newark, United States (17 miles)
• Linden Airport, KLDJ, LDJ, Linden, United States (23 miles)
• Republic Airport, KFRG, FRG, Farmingdale, United States (23 miles)
• Westchester County Airport, KHPN, HPN, White Plains, United States (23 miles)

The nearly 50-acre complex became the home of the U.S. Open after incoming United States Tennis Association President W.E. Hester spotted the underused Louis Armstrong Stadium on a flight into LaGuardia in 1977.

The stadium, built as an assembly pavilion for the 1964 World’s Fair, was named Singer Stadium after the sewing company that agreed to pay for it and host its fair events. It held the fair’s opening ceremonies, which were presided over on a rainy day by then-president Lyndon B. Johnson and Nelson Rockefeller, the governor of New York.

In following years, it was used for concerts – including the famous 1968 concert in which the Who opened for the Doors – Olympic trials and boxing tournaments.

But the financial crisis of the 1970s forced the stadium to be almost abandoned by the New York City Parks Department, which had no funding for upkeep and repairs.

Enter USTA’s interest in the property and the late Dave Oats, who had been an activist for Flushing Meadows since the world’s fair. Together, they worked to get the stadium refurbished and renamed after Louis Armstrong, the New Orleans-born jazz trumpeter who made Queens his home. He died there in 1971.

Arthur Ashe Stadium. Picture Source.

In 1997, the Arthur Ashe Stadium was built, becoming the No. 1 tennis venue in Flushing Meadows. Named after the first player to win the Open after professionals were allowed to compete in 1968, Arthur Ashe seats nearly 23,000.

Improvements continue to be made to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The world’s largest retractable roof over a tennis stadium – 250 feet by 250 feet – is being put on Arthur Ashe, the world’s largest tennis stadium. It is expected to be completed for the 2016 Open. It will only be used in case of rain and, even when closed, will allow visitors sweeping views of Manhattan from its upper promenade, an important consideration of tennis center officials.

And, a brand new Louis Armstrong Stadium is expected to be finished in 2018.

Amaze your friends with this U.S. Open trivia:

• The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has been played on three surfaces. It was played on grass in 1981 when it began at the Newport Casino in Rhode Island; then on clay until it was moved to the hard courts covered in Deco-Turf in Flushing Meadows.
• In 1960, Margaret Osborne duPont won her 25th career U.S. Open title, a record that stands today.
• Arthur Ashe, who won the title in 1968, remains the only black man to win a singles title at the U.S. Open.
• Men and women were awarded equal prize money – $25,000 – for the first time in 1973.
• Lights enabled night play for the first time in 1975.
• Nineteen-year-old Pete Sampras became the youngest men's singles champion in 1990.
• Instant replay was introduced in 2006 after too many bad calls went against Serena Williams in her matches against Jennifer Capriati in 2004.
• There were 15 years between Serena Williams’ first win in 1999 and her retaking of the singles title.