Play on Louis Armstrong Stadium officially came to a close on Tuesday evening. The stadium will eventually be torn down and replaced for the 2018 tournament, but the memories will live on forever.
For me, those memories go beyond the champions who have lifted up winner’s trophies there since 1978. Louis Armstrong Stadium was the place where my lifelong love for the sport began.
My dad first took me to the US Open when I was a hyperactive nine-year-old in 1995. At that point, my knowledge of professional tennis was limited to the epic rivalry between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Neither of them were playing that day, so the US Open was a hard sell.
“You can have soda and ice cream when you’re there,” my dad said.
Sold.
But when we sat in our seats high atop the-then 18,000 seat Louis Armstrong Stadium, I didn’t move for the next eight hours. We watched Michael Chang pull out a four-set win over Stefano Pescosolido, then saw Amy Frazier upset then-reigning Australian Open champion Mary Pierce. We even stuck around long enough to peer over into the Grandstand court to watch Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario easily defeat Maria Jose Gaidano.
Even as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has continued to expand over the years, with additions including Arthur Ashe Stadium, Court 17 and the practice pavilion, Louis Armstrong Stadium has continued to remain my favorite court. In recent years, it’s become almost a throwback to an era that was.
“I liked the intimacy of the court, how the players box was along the side of the court so you could look over and see your family. There wasn't a bad seat in the house,” said two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin, who won both her titles on that court. “And the other thing I'll miss is that walk from the indoor court, through the ropes, through the fans, how loud everybody was, and then you go underneath the bowels of the stadium and come out into the sunshine again. It was really great.”
It was fitting to see Gigi Fernandez out there Thursday for an exhibition match commemorating Louis Armstrong Stadium, because we returned the following week to watch her compete there in the mixed doubles final. Of course, I didn’t mention to her that she lost.
The new Louis Armstrong Stadium will have an extra 5,000 seats, a roof, suites and all the amenities that the current one lacks. But I can only hope it also plays host to the same level of tennis that brought about my lifelong love for the sport. Maybe it’ll do the same for another 10-year-old.
