Having a Ball at the U.S. Open

At America's biggest tennis competition, expect healthy spending, wild outfits, and great matches

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

1. On-Court Cocktail Dresses and Giant Balls. It Must Be the U.S. Open

Midsummer, tennis purists decried the supposed disintegration of Wimbledon into nothing more than a white-themed catwalk unrolling under—horrors—an operable roof. Men's champion Roger Federer was savaged for his Michael Jacksonesque white and gold military jacket and matching bag, while native son Andy Murray and his stuffy Fred Perrys was applauded for his sartorial decorum (although Murray failed to make the finals).

But tennis in New York has always been a fashion show and marketer's paradise, perhaps never evidenced more than now, as the U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center kicks off in Flushing Meadows. In New York no one bats an eye when Federer and his young family spend their off-court time in the $3,075 a night "Roger Federer Suite" at the Carlyle, Rafael Nadal wears attire inspired by the city's famed yellow taxi cabs, and Serena Williams' clothing is "said to have been inspired by cocktail party attire," according to the New York Daily News. Would we really be surprised if the courtside ball girls, decked out in Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), came out in spike heels?

Not when the New York Post reports that tennis diva Maria Sharapova, sponsored by Nike (NKE) and Prince, has partnered with Cole Haan to create Maria Sharapova by Cole Haan, her first head-to-toe clothing collection. One of her best fashion moments, Sharapova was quoted as saying, was at a Cole Haan dinner in April, when for the "first time I had a chance to wear a pair of stilettos from the collection I designed."

Among the most iconic items of apparel on sale throughout the Flushing Meadows complex are those bearing the Open's dozen year-old "flaming ball" logo. Sales of such items account for about 42% of all sales at the National Tennis Center during the event, according to USTA officials. All told, on-site retail operations at the tournament bring in close to $14 million.

Even the balls in New York are bigger —the giant yellow collectible Wilson Sporting Goods autograph balls, that is. The balls Wilson sells at the U.S. Open are 11 inches in diameter, two inches bigger than those sold at other Wilson-sponsored tournaments. The ever-present New York markup persists—the balls cost $40 each at the event, $34 on Wilson's on-site store—where they reportedly account for half of all sales. The company expects to sell as many as 8,000 throughout the duration of the event.

2. U.S. Open: Hospitable on TV and in Person

With record attendance of almost 60,000 on opening day and almost 24,000 for the evening session anchored by matches featuring Venus Williams and Andy Roddick, the U.S. Open is on pace to have its "second- or third-best financial performance ever, despite the down economy," according to SportsBusiness Journal. According to USTA sources, revenues close to last year's $208 million and profits of $110 million to $115 million are likely, and attendance is "expected to reach 675,000."

Despite the economy, all 85 suites within the National Tennis Center are sold out, and only a few long- term sponsors, such as New York-based financial giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM), are reining in hospitality at the event. Although JPMorgan Chase signed a six-year, $90 million extension of its U.S. Open sponsorship in 2007, the company has decided to limit its corporate hospitality to only the final six days of the tournament this year.

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