The USTA Monday announced that the 2021 US Open will feature the tournament’s first-ever NFT (non-fungible token) collection, available at nft.usopen.org. Multiple levels of the digital collectibles will be available to fans to commemorate their experience with the 2021 US Open, from innovative “virtual ticket stubs” to super-rare “Golden Ace” tokens offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
“Enabling fans worldwide to engage with the US Open in the NFT space is an exciting step, because it offers a number of accessible, modern and in some cases extraordinary ways to interact with the event and its champions in an increasingly popular digital realm,” said Kirsten Corio, Managing Director, Ticketing and Digital Strategy, USTA.
The levels of NFTs available for the 2021 US Open will be as follows:
- An unlimited amount of tokens featuring key US Open artwork will be available to fans worldwide, but can only be purchased during the main draw, from Aug. 30-Sept. 12. Another level of token will be available exclusively to in-person attendees of the 2021 US Open – a creative “virtual ticket stub”--claimable for free on USOpen.org the day following their attendance.
- An exclusive level of “Champion” tokens will be limited in quantity and will feature trading cards of legendary US Open champions: Billie Jean King, Andy Roddick, Stan Smith, Venus Williams and Bob and Mike Bryan. For each of those Champions, only 20 numbered “Legendary” trading cards and one “Golden Ace” card will be available for bid with both U.S. dollars and Ethereum.
- The highest-level “Golden Ace” card, limited to one per Champion, will come with several once-in-a-lifetime experiences for its winning bidder, such as: an opportunity to play tennis inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, a meet-and-greet with a tennis star at the US Open, having their name engraved on the US Open grounds, courtside tickets to the 2022 US Open men’s or women’s singles championship, autographed memorabilia, and a limited-edition US Open merchandise pack.
The USTA collaborated with VaynerNFT on the concept and creation of the 2021 US Open NFT collection.
