Grandstand Seating Plan & 3D ViewsUS Open

Grandstand seating plan with real 3D views from every section — US Open

Tournament

US Open

Surface

Hard (Laykold)

Roof

Open air

Capacity

8,125

Opened

2016

City

New York

The Grandstand opened in 2016 at the southwest corner of the National Tennis Center, replacing the old horseshoe court that had been tucked against the side of the original Louis Armstrong. It is the third show court of the US Open and the smallest of the three, it has no roof, and it has a reputation out of all proportion to its size: ask people who go to Flushing Meadows every year where they would rather sit and a surprising number say the Grandstand.

8,125, the figure published for the stadium built in 2016. The USTA rounds it to 8,000 in its own marketing copy.

A compact, steeply raked bowl, which is the whole reason it works. Every row gains real height on the one in front, so the back of the Grandstand is closer to the tennis in every sense that matters than the middle tier of a large stadium. There is no bad distance in this room; what varies is angle. Behind the baseline you get the rally as a pattern, along the side you get one player at a time in detail, and the corners are the seats to look at on the map before you commit.

Sun and shade at Grandstand

The Grandstand has no roof, so this is the court where sun and shade are decided entirely by which side you sit on and what time the session starts. The complex as a whole takes the sun high over its southern side in the middle of the day, falling away west and setting towards the northwest, which means the south and west sides of a bowl move into shade first. For an early-afternoon session in late August, take the shade question seriously and use the 3D view above to see which way your section looks.

Day session, night session and what your ticket covers

The Grandstand is ticketed separately from Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong. Because it is uncovered, a Grandstand session can be interrupted or suspended by rain with no way of continuing, unlike the two roofed stadiums. In the earlier rounds it regularly gets a better match than its size implies, which is the other half of why regulars like it.

Where are the best seats at Grandstand?

Low and central behind the baseline is the classic answer and it is cheap here in a way it never is in Arthur Ashe. But the rake in this stadium is good enough that the higher rows are a genuine alternative rather than a compromise, so if the shade is better up there, take it. The only seats worth opening the 3D view for first are the corners.

Frequently asked questions

How can I see the view from my seat at Grandstand?

Click any section on the interactive Grandstand map above and a real panoramic 3D view from that part of the stadium opens instantly. Drag to look around in 360°.

What is played at Grandstand?

The US Open, on hard (laykold). The 2026 main draw runs 30 August – 13 September 2026.

What are the best seats at Grandstand?

Low and central behind the baseline is the classic answer and it is cheap here in a way it never is in Arthur Ashe. But the rake in this stadium is good enough that the higher rows are a genuine alternative rather than a compromise, so if the shade is better up there, take it. The only seats worth opening the 3D view for first are the corners.

Why do regulars prefer the Grandstand at the US Open?

Because it is small and steep. Every seat is close, the crowd is loud in a way a big bowl cannot be, and in the first week the court regularly draws a better match than its capacity would suggest. It is the most intimate of the three US Open show courts by a distance.

Does the Grandstand have a roof?

No. It is open to the sky, so play stops for rain and there is no shelter from the sun beyond the shade thrown by the structure itself. The two roofed courts at the US Open are Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong.

What is the capacity of the Grandstand?

8,125 in the stadium built in 2016. The USTA rounds this to 8,000 in its own marketing.

What is the difference between the two Grandstand maps on this site?

They are the same physical court in two different ticketing configurations. This page is the standard one; the other is the Full Reserved layout, in which every seat in the stadium is an assigned seat. Compare them side by side if you are not sure which applies to your session.