When is the 2026 US Open and where is it held?

The 2026 US Open runs from August 23 through September 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens — the same park as Citi Field and the Unisphere. The opening Fan Week, starting August 23, has free grounds admission for qualifying matches and practice sessions; the ticketed main draw follows and runs through the finals on September 13.

How do you get to the US Open from Richmond Hill, Queens?

The tournament's own station is Mets–Willets Point on the 7 subway line. From Richmond Hill, take the E or F train to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av / 74th St and transfer to a Flushing-bound 7, riding about five stops to Mets–Willets Point — one $2.90 OMNY fare. On match days the LIRR also runs extra trains to its Mets–Willets Point station, reachable by connecting from the Jamaica hub, usually changing at Woodside. Driving up the Van Wyck is possible but parking is slow and pricey on busy sessions.

Can you use cannabis at the US Open?

No. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the surrounding park are not places to consume cannabis. If you're 21+ and pick something up before or after, keep it sealed and enjoy it later at home where it's permitted. New York's licensed dispensaries sell adult-use products through a regulated, lab-tested supply chain — the shop in Richmond Hill (OCM-RETL-24-000068) is the closest licensed option to the Van Wyck corridor.

A US Open Day in Queens: A Local's Guide from Richmond Hill

Home / Learn / A US Open Day in Queens: A Local's Guide from Richmond Hill

The short version

The 2026 US Open runs Aug 23–Sep 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park — the same park as Citi Field and the Unisphere, a handful of miles north of Richmond Hill.
The opening days are free. During Fan Week (starting Aug 23) the grounds are open with no admission — you can watch qualifying matches and top players practicing up close before the ticketed main draw begins.
Get there without a car: the 7 train to Mets–Willets Point is the tournament's front door. From Richmond Hill, ride the E or F to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av and transfer to a Flushing-bound 7. On match days the LIRR also runs extra trains to Mets–Willets Point.
It's cannabis-free on-site. The tennis center and the park are not places to consume — think of it as a before-you-go or after-you-get-home thing, at home, 21+. When you're back, the live menu at the licensed shop in Richmond Hill has the easy single-serving formats for a hot-day wind-down. Stock changes daily.

8 min read · Updated August 12, 2026

For three weeks at the end of every summer, the biggest single-venue sporting event in the country sets up a few miles from our block. The US Open pulls close to a million people out to Flushing Meadows, and a lot of them arrive by car, pay to park, and never see the rest of Queens. That's a missed opportunity. From Richmond Hill you're perfectly placed to do it the local way — cheap transit, real neighborhood food, and none of the parking-lot misery. Here's the full day.

When is the US Open, and where exactly is it?

The 2026 US Open runs from August 23 through September 13. It's held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park in north-central Queens — the same park that holds Citi Field, the Unisphere left over from the 1964 World's Fair, and the New York Hall of Science. The main stadium, Arthur Ashe, is the largest tennis arena in the world.

The tournament splits into two parts, and knowing the difference is the single most useful thing for planning a budget day:

Fan Week (from Aug 23): the opening stretch, when the qualifying tournament and practice sessions happen. Grounds admission is free — no ticket needed to walk in, watch qualifiers battle for a main-draw spot, and catch big names practicing on the outer courts a few feet away.
The main draw (the following week onward): the ticketed championship most people picture, running through the finals on Sep 13. Tickets are per-session and range from grounds passes to Ashe seats.

If you've never been, go during Fan Week. It's the same grounds, the same food, the same players hitting on the practice courts — for free. It's one of the best no-cost days out in the city, and it's over before most people realize it happened.

How do you get to Flushing Meadows from Richmond Hill?

By transit, easily — and on US Open days transit beats driving by a mile. The tournament's own subway station is Mets–Willets Point on the 7 line, which drops you at a boardwalk that leads straight to the gates. The trick from our side of Queens is just getting onto the 7:

Subway (the reliable move): from Richmond Hill, take the E or F train from Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike toward Manhattan, get off at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av / 74th St, and transfer across the platform to a Flushing-bound 7. Ride it about five stops to Mets–Willets Point. One $2.90 OMNY tap covers the whole trip.
LIRR (fastest on match days): the Long Island Rail Road runs extra service to its Mets–Willets Point station during the Open. From the Jamaica hub — a short bus or J-train hop from Richmond Hill — you can connect toward Willets Point, usually changing at Woodside. It's quick, but check the event schedule since Willets Point trains only run on select days.
Driving: it's a straight shot up the Van Wyck (I-678), roughly 15–20 minutes without traffic — but on a big session the Van Wyck clogs and the Citi Field parking lots are slow and pricey to get out of. If you drive, go for a day session and leave early.

If you want the transit basics for our own block spelled out, the getting here by train and bus guide covers the J/Z and the local buses in more detail.

What should you know before you go?

A few things that make an August day at the courts go smoothly:

Dress for heat. Late August in Queens is hot and humid, and the outer courts and Ashe's upper rows bake in full sun. Hat, sunscreen, and light clothing matter more than you'd think. Day sessions are hotter; evening sessions under the lights are the comfortable move.
Check the bag and food policy first. The USTA's rules on bag size and what food or drink you can bring change year to year — look them up on the official site before you pack. Historically a factory-sealed water bottle and a small bag have been allowed; don't assume.
Buy real tickets from the official source. For the ticketed main draw, buy through the US Open's official channels, not a stranger on the street — the same instinct that tells you to buy cannabis from a licensed shop, not an unlicensed one applies to tennis tickets.
It's a cannabis-free venue. The tennis center and the surrounding park are not places to consume. Keep anything you buy sealed and enjoy it later, at home, if you're 21+.

Where should you eat around the park?

The food is half the reason to do this by transit — you're dropped into one of the great eating corridors of the city. A few directions, depending on your appetite and timing:

Inside the grounds: the US Open food village has gotten genuinely good, with honest-to-goodness NYC vendors rather than just stadium hot dogs. It's pricey, as stadium food is, but a step above the usual.
Roosevelt Avenue, under the 7: get off a stop or two early and you're in the taco-and-arepa heartland of Queens — the storied Arepa Lady on Roosevelt Ave, Ecuadorian and Colombian counters, and some of the best street food in America, all a short walk from the park.
Flushing's Chinatown: ride the 7 to the end at Flushing–Main St for one of the country's biggest and best Chinatowns — hand-pulled noodles, dumplings, and the Golden Mall food stalls. It's two stops past the tennis center.
The Queens Night Market: on select Saturday evenings, this beloved global-food market sets up by the New York Hall of Science inside the park itself, famous for its low, wallet-friendly prices. It takes a mid-summer break, though, so check their schedule before you count on it lining up with your visit.

And on the way home to the Richmond Hill side, Liberty Avenue's Little Guyana is right there for roti, doubles, and Guyanese bakery — the eating along Jamaica Avenue guide has more on our own neighborhood's counters and diners.

What's a good at-home wind-down after a day at the courts?

After hours in the August sun — the long walk back to the 7, the ride home, the sunburn you'll pretend you don't have — the appeal is a quiet evening on the couch. If you're 21+, the live menu at the licensed shop in Richmond Hill has the easy, single-serving formats that fit a low-key night in. A few things in stock as of this writing (a menu changes daily, so check the live menu for what's actually on the shelf):

AYRLOOM Lemonade — a cold, clearly labeled cannabis lemonade in a can, one serving, no barware. A fitting end to a hot day; the THC drinks explainer covers how beverages differ from other formats.
FERNWAY Mandarin Orange vape — a compact, all-in-one 510 vape, about as discreet and low-fuss as formats get. New to vapes? The vapes explained guide walks through the hardware.
Purple Headband (To The Moon) — an evening-leaning flower for anyone who'd rather roll their own and settle in for the night.
MFNY Cherry Lime gummies — a pack that breaks into small, individually labeled pieces, easy to portion for a mellow evening.

Beverages and gummies are slow-onset formats — you take one serving and wait, rather than going by feel. If edibles or drinks are new to you, read your first edible start guide first, and start low. Nothing here is health or dosing advice; cannabis affects everyone differently, and none of these products is a promise of any particular effect.

Names on a live menu turn over constantly, so treat these as examples of the format, not a fixed list. The team can point you at whatever's on the shelf that fits the evening you're planning.

The quick rundown

When: Aug 23–Sep 13, 2026, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Free tip: go during Fan Week (from Aug 23) — grounds admission is free, with qualifying matches and open practice sessions.
Get there: E/F to Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av, transfer to a Flushing-bound 7, ride to Mets–Willets Point — $2.90. LIRR runs extra Willets Point service on match days.
Eat: the food village inside, Roosevelt Avenue tacos and arepas, Flushing's Chinatown at Main St, and Little Guyana on the way home.
After: it's a cannabis-free venue — keep anything you buy sealed and enjoy it later at home. The licensed shop in Richmond Hill has single-serving formats for the wind-down. 21+.

That's the US Open done the way a Queens local does it — the free week most people skip, the trains instead of the parking lot, and the best food in the borough on either end of the day. Cannabis Cowboy is a licensed adult-use dispensary on Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill (NY OCM-RETL-24-000068), serving Ozone Park, Kew Gardens, Woodhaven and Jamaica. Browse the live menu or come by with a valid 21+ ID.