Serena at the US Open, August 25
As those who follow this blog know, I will occasionally yield to impulse and take an unplanned trip. Until the day before I departed, I had no idea I was going to New York to attend the 2026 US Open in Flushing, New York.
I had wanted to go for a few years, but until that day, the cost felt prohibitive. Then, an announcement on the Tennis Channel said that tennis players Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as Aryna Sabalenka partnering with Novak Djokovic, would play mixed doubles together for the Open’s Fan Week. Williams had retired from the professional women’s tennis circuit four years prior, and Alcaraz was making his first tournament appearance since sustaining a wrist injury four months earlier. With that in mind, I wasn’t expecting to see them play at their best, but seeing them play would be worth the effort. Plus, the Fan Week ticket prices were within what I was willing to pay. So, I ordered a ticket online, pulled out with an already fully gassed SB around 10 p.m. that night, and drove to New York City via the reduced-toll route marked in dark blue on the map to the right. I arrived well before the morning rush, making me feel comfortable stopping to take a couple of pictures, and I missed my exit and ended up at LaGuardia Airport. Still, I finally got directions to the accessible parking at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and was the first person in line to enter that gate.
The center is enormous, as befits the world’s largest tennis stadium, Arthur Ashe Stadium. I signed up for the fan access pass so I could get one of the comic book souvenirs they were giving away. I’m also thankful I bought a seated ticket for Ashe because the staff strictly monitored the assigned seats, and I could get up for breaks knowing I could return to my seat.
The mixed doubles matches were scheduled for Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums, with other qualifying matches and practice sessions held in venues within the center. Because of all the walking I had done to get to my seat, the matches I really wanted to see were all scheduled in Ashe, and with the proximity of food vendors and a gift shop, I was content to stay inside Ashe. I watched Sabalenka practice and staff prepping the court and gallery.
Sixteen pairs played in the mixed doubles draw, a combination of doubles specialists and singles players likely selected for their ability to draw an audience (so what?).
Sabalenka/Djokovic opened with a loss to Siniakova/Patten, then Bencic/Cobolli — who would win the mixed doubles finals the next day — defeated Townsend/Zverev (the men’s singles winner of the 2026 US Open). Then Williams/Alcaraz beat Routliff/Glasspool in 58 minutes before facing Bencic/Cobolli in the Quarterfinals less than an hour later.
During their first match, the now-full stadium was so vehement in pulling for Serena that I started feeling sorry for the opponents, who clearly had to be pressured by that many people enthusiastically cheering her. The panoramic photo below gives a pretty good sense of the scene. It might be wishful thinking on my part, but I couldn’t help thinking that Williams and Alcaraz might have given Bencic/Cobolli more competition in that second set if they’d had a longer break between matches.
When I decided to call it a day, people were still wandering the concourse; more events were clearly scheduled, but I needed to rest before driving back to the DMV. I found a quiet spot to rest and wait out New York’s evening rush hour until close to 9 p.m. Believe it or not, there was still plenty of traffic on the roads, but SB and I made it home uneventfully before the DMV’s morning rush slowed things down too dramatically.
Several pictures from the day are below, with the rest available at:
Atlanta Braves at the Washington Nationals, September 2
Wednesday, September 2, marked the third straight year I’ve taken the Metro subway to the Washington Nationals’ stadium to watch them play the visiting Atlanta Braves. I’ve been a Braves fan since Henry Aaron moved with the team from Milwaukee in 1966. For the third year in a row, I put on my jersey top with Aaron’s number 44 on the back and a cap with a big A sewn on the front, and entered the nearest gate to the ballpark.
The far-from-capacity crowd was heavily spiced with fellow Braves fans because the Nationals had already been eliminated from postseason contention. This now annual birthday gift to myself gives me the chance to see the Braves play live, rather than just on television. Like last year, rain delayed the game for nearly 1.5 hours, but at least there was no lightning this year, so everyone could wait out the storm under the stadium’s shelter. Unfortunately, the delay was long enough that Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes couldn’t return to play. This was too bad because he had retired the first nine Nationals with only 26 pitches before the delay.
The game was blacked out for live broadcast, so I couldn’t access play-by-play. I didn’t know until later that Ronald Acuña Jr.’s home run had made him the fastest player in the major leagues to hit 200 home runs and steal 200 bases.
Well before the Braves won 9-0, most Nationals fans had left (not that I blame them). Appreciate the birthday gift, though, and I’m hoping to see the Braves go very far in the postseason!
The rest of the afternoon’s pictures are available at https://singin1.click/piwigo/index.php?/category/Seein-the-DMV-Take-Me-Out-to-the-Ballgame-3-090226.
