Inside the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom Tennis Invitational During US Open Week
US Open week moved to Park Avenue for one evening, with four of the game’s biggest names playing beneath the chandeliers of the Waldorf Astoria.
Late August in New York belongs to tennis. For two weeks, the courts at Flushing Meadows command the attention, but the tournament has always had a life beyond the stadium, extending into the city’s hotels, restaurants, private rooms and evening calendars.
On August 27, one of those evenings unfolded inside the Grand Ballroom at Waldorf Astoria New York. The Waldorf Astoria Racquet Club Ballroom Tennis Invitational brought Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Leylah Fernandez and Maria Sakkari to a full-length court built beneath the ballroom’s chandeliers, with guests seated only a few feet from the action.
For Your VIP Pass, it was the kind of New York experience that sits naturally alongside the private, cultural and ticketed experiences we look for throughout the year: familiar names, an exceptional room and access that changes the way an event feels.
Tennis, Moved Uptown
The setting was the first surprise. Rather than recreating the atmosphere of a stadium, the evening allowed the Grand Ballroom to remain unmistakably itself, with a tennis court running through a room better known for formal dinners and New York occasions.
That contrast gave the matches their character. Shelton, Paul, Fernandez and Sakkari traded real points within feet of the first row, close enough for the speed and sound of the game to feel entirely different from a stadium seat.
The court was only part of the evening. Food and cocktails continued throughout the event, and Your VIP Pass guests were able to step onto the court after the matches for photographs, with the chandeliers, balconies and temporary court still in place behind them.
It was a very different way to begin US Open week: no long security lines, no August heat and no stadium concourse between one part of the evening and the next. Dinner attire instead of sunscreen.
The Other Calendar Around the Open
The US Open may take place in Queens, but its orbit reaches much further. Late August brings with it another calendar of dinners, appearances, hospitality events and private gatherings that exists alongside the official tournament schedule.
The Ballroom Tennis Invitational belonged to that second calendar. The players were names New York would see throughout the Open, but the scale of the evening was deliberately smaller, replacing the distance of a major sporting venue with the intimacy of a ballroom.
That is often where access becomes most interesting. A premium seat can improve the view of an event, but the right room can change the experience altogether.
For Your VIP Pass, that distinction matters. Our work across private events and experiences is less about adding ceremony around something familiar and more about finding the setting, timing and access that make the occasion feel different in the first place.
After Match Point
By the end of the evening, some of the strongest images had very little to do with a serve or a rally. Guests stood on the court after the matches, surrounded by the architecture of the Waldorf Astoria, in a room that had been temporarily transformed for a single night.
That is part of what New York does particularly well. The city produces rooms that exist briefly, feel completely natural while they are happening, and are gone again by the following morning.
The Waldorf Astoria Ballroom Tennis Invitational was one of them.
If it returns next season, it is already on our list.
What Comes Next
New York rarely puts its most interesting experiences on a single calendar. From major cultural moments and private dining to fashion, Broadway and invitation-only events, there is usually another room worth knowing about.
Explore more Your VIP Pass experiences, discover what we create for private events, or contact our team to start a conversation about access in New York and beyond.