Despite the US Open only concluding a week ago, tournament director Stacey Allaster has revealed there are already ambitious upgrades taking place.
A thrilling fortnight at Flushing provided an unprecedented level of drama and excitement with two new champions crowned.
Characterised by its homegrown stars, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro raced to the last four for the first time, with the former eventually finishing as the runner-up.
The men’s side saw similar success for the men as Taylor Fritz became the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick in 2009.
With a packed out Arthur Ashe enabling a truly electric finals weekend, the US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster has already said the venue is being upgraded.
US Open tournament director announces dramatic US Open upgrades are already beginning
Despite the tournament over for another 12 months, Allaster has revealed the US Open team are not hanging around to improve the experience for the athletes and the fans.
Featuring on the podcast ‘Served’ with Andy Roddick, Allaster was quizzed on the future of the US Open and the improvements she’s looking to make.
“It’s starting now,” she told the 2003 Champion about the new upgrades. “A new player performance building and a two story parking lot. That’s a lot which is right at the entrance of the President’s gate.
“It will take three years to build and we are going to double the amount of space we have for the athletes,” Allaster continued. “That’s their locker rooms, it’s outdoor fitness – if you go to Wimbledon there is that massive outdoor fitness area, where the athletes want to train and do their fitness in the environment they are competing in. Think of an equinox spa, we are really elevating that whole experience.
“What do athletes need? They need some calmness, right,” she added firmly. “Because when they open up those doors it’s chaos, with the fans and their guests. So we will give them this solitude, recovery space, we will double the size of the dining areas.”
With the Australian and French Open also having made significant improvements to the athlete and fan experience recently, Allaster continued: “We are the last slam to have renovated and updated facilities. We need more space and a state of the art building for the athletes, so we are excited.”
The US Open was the most exciting Grand Slam of the year
On paper, it may live to look like a relatively standard tournament, with the top seed in the men’s draw winning, while the hot favorite in the women’s came away with the title.
However, after both defending champions came undone early, the draw completely opened up.
By the semi-finals in each event, there were four American players left, something previous years had never seen.
The atmosphere created on Arthur Ashe was immense, and with two new US Open champions crowned, a certain edge managed to bleed into all the final matches.
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