The US Open is ready to show its Pride once more. Open Pride, the third-annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community at the US Open, is set for Aug. 31.
Open Pride has become the US Open's signature celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, and is the evolution of “Love All: An Open Conversation," a 2019 US Open panel discussion that featured notable LGBTQ+ athletes Jason Collins, Adam Rippon and Billy Bean, among others. The inaugural Open Pride event was held in 2021, and this year, as in years past, the event will spread a core message of inclusion, and elevate diverse LGBTQ+ voices both inside and outside of tennis.
Tickets for Open Pride, and all other sessions of the 2023 US Open, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.
To this aim, the Open Pride brunch, a keystone event of the celebration, will return. This invitation-only networking event hosted in the Overlook brings together members and allies of LGBTQ+ community to build a network that supports LGBTQ+ inclusion 365 days a year. In conjunction with longtime tournament sponsor Tiffany & Co., the Overlook will also host "Standing for Family, Love and Equality," a fireside chat with panelists including former professional soccer player Jo Lohman, and Amrit Kapai, star of Bravo's "Family Karma."
Other visual activations slated for Open Pride will include the illumination of Arthur Ashe Stadium in rainbow colors; a perfomance by Gotham Cheer; the wearing of US Open-branded rainbow sweatbands by players, Ball Crew members and officials, and T-shirts by staff members; and the selling of US Open Pride merchandise in the US Open shop.
The US Open is also undergoing the certification process to have its tournament designated as a “safe space” for the LGBTQ+ community by the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, the non-profit organization of New York's historic Stonewall Inn—the birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the U.S.
And in conjunction with the signature event in Queens, Open Pride will, for the first time, have a simultaneous celebration at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance or GLTA, a global LGBTQ+ sports organization that sanctions amateur tennis tournaments all over the world, will hold a one-day doubles tournament at the home of American tennis, where players and attendees will also receive US Open-branded rainbow sweatbands.
In the evening, the Campus will host a US Open watch party in partnership with the GLTA.
As part of the USTA’s goal to make tennis an inclusive sport that is open to anyone who wants to get involved, Open Pride is one of two signature celebrations scheduled for the first week of the championships. HBCU Live at the US Open will also return for its third year on Wednesday, Aug. 30, celebrating the history, culture, pride and impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The 2023 US Open main draw will be played from Aug. 28 through Sept. 10, while US Open Fan Week, which includes free fun and entertainment for all ages plus the US Open Qualifying Tournament, begins the week prior on Aug. 22.
