If you’ve ever enjoyed a show-stopping musical performance on Opening Night, a commemorative on-court ceremony honoring a tennis legend, or an Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the US Open, Michael Fiur is among those who helped make it possible.
A New York City native and graduate of Binghamton University, Fiur has been involved with the US Open for the past 25 years and is currently the executive producer of the event’s entertainment — the show within the show.
In layman’s terms? Fiur and his team of associate producers are responsible for much of the on-site experience outside of the actual tennis competition: from securing Grammy Award-winners like Phil Collins and Kelly Clarkson for Opening Night performances to staffing the stadium DJs who soundtrack changeovers and set breaks.
The career is a logical intersection of longtime interests for Fiur, who first found a calling in theater as a student at the Dwight School in Manhattan and came to tennis after a stint as an entertainment executive for Radio City Music Hall. Having also produced the Super Bowl halftime show for the better part of two decades, he uses his background to play an integral role in making the US Open tennis’ grandest stage.
“A lot of what I’ve ended up doing has been in sports, somewhat ironically — never having been a major sports person, though a fan of hometown team growing up in New York,” he said. “I wasn't out there playing baseball or football or soccer or hockey… Tennis was one of the only sports that I really liked and played, never at any kind of major or competitive level. From 1997, with the opening ceremony for Ashe stadium and first AAKD in Ashe, I've worked on every US Open since.
“Over the last 25 years, we’ve created the entertainment blueprint for the US Open that’s grown as sports and entertainment have merged. For instance, [early on], we brought in video screens for Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and Opening Night that were at the top of [Arthur Ashe] stadium, and then they left and were gone for the tournament. It wasn't until a couple of years later that we had video screens that eventually got enlarged over time and became a permanent part of the stadium. Serena and Venus' first primetime women's final was in 2001. 2002 was the first time we brought in a DJ to Arthur Ashe Stadium, and then we we added one at Louis Armstrong. Then we had on-court announcers, added that to Armstrong and Grandstand and then Court 17.
“As this has all evolved, we’ve really helped create what is the US Open as we know it today.”
In celebration of Pride Month, read more from Fiur on inclusion in tennis, being a role model for LGBTQ+ youth and how US Open entertainment strives to reflect the diversity of the year's final Grand Slam.
To read the full story, head to usta.com.
