The US Open has long been lauded as three of the most exciting weeks in the tennis calendar, from the first serve of qualifying until the last point of the men’s singles final. However, the on-court action is far from the only reason fans flock to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, or follow the tournament on social media. Every year, a few moments from the tournament take the audience and the internet by storm, and this year was no exception. Here are some of USOpen.org’s favorite viral moments from the New York fortnight.
When the US Open Ball Crew became the US Open Bug Wrangling Crew.
Sometimes the job description includes “other duties as assigned.” Two members of the US Open Ball Crew discovered what those duties include during the quarterfinal match between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov, when a large insect decided it wanted a chance to shine on the biggest stage in tennis.
One brave Ball Crew member took it upon himself to try to capture the bug—and after a few failed attempts as he chased the insect around the court, one of his fellow Ball Crew comrades stepped in to help. The two eventually succeeded their mission, as one of them clutched the intruder in his raised fist, running triumphantly back to his post behind the baseline.
When Kevin Hart was dialed in.
Watching tennis is serious business, and you never want to miss a point. It seemed like comedian and actor Kevin Hart didn’t even want to blink when he attended the men’s quarterfinal matchup between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov, as he frantically moved side to side to catch every single moment of the action. The video of Hart was juxtaposed with 20-time major champion Roger Federer, who appeared cool as a cucumber, talking to other spectators, seemingly unfazed.
Hart went on “The Tonight Show” a couple of nights later, and when asked if he was doing a bit, he said he just couldn’t see.
“I gotta be just 1,000% honest. I couldn't see! So it looks like I'm doing something at the boy's head,” Hart said. “I was like, 'Move, man! Scoot down a little bit! Scoot down a little bit so I can watch.”
When there was a bit of a Honey Deuce mix-up.
We may never quite know what happened during the second night of the US Open main draw when two men slid into their seats, both handing a Honey Deuce to a woman sitting next to them. But what we do have is this video.
When top tennis players went undercover around the grounds.
At the US Open, you expect to see the athletes ... on the court. You don’t expect to find them selling water at an Evian stand or working the cash register at the Wilson store. However, for some visitors who were at the right place at the right time during Fan Week, they got to see Tiafoe hawking Evian, Ons Jabeur taking photos of fans with giant tennis racquets, and Alex de Minaur ringing up Wilson’s signature jumbo tennis balls as they went undercover.
Some astute fans noticed that “Demon” from “New Jersey, from the Bronx” was in fact world No. 10 de Minaur and the water vendor was Tiafoe, while others didn’t quite clock them, and Jabeur was able to convince a few fans she was Paula Badosa’s cousin, “Aryna Badosa.” Whether people noticed or not the players had a lot of fun going incognito, and the videos lit up social media.
When Barbie walked the blue carpet.
While last year was the true summer of Barbie, she was a little too busy saving Barbieland to make a trip out to Flushing Meadows to enjoy the tennis. However, she found the time this year to come and enjoy the women’s final between No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula—and we were lucky enough to catch her strutting her stuff on the blue carpet.
When Lyudmyla Kichenok had to postpone her wedding.
Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok came to the US Open with dreams of avenging their loss in the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open, and lifting their first major title as a team. While that dream came true, another big event was deferred: Kichenok’s wedding to Stas Kumarsky, Ostapenko’s coach. Kichenok and Kumarsky had an appointment to get legally married on Wednesday, but when the doubles duo triumphed in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday, the wedding needed to be postponed.
While the new date is to be determined, Kichenok isn’t leaving New York empty-handed—the 2024 US Open women’s doubles champion has a Grand Slam trophy to take with her.
“It's a good excuse to postpone it a bit," said Ostapenko. "And now, win a US Open and go get married, I think it's pretty great.”
When Aryna Sabalenka met her mini-me.
Without a doubt, one of the best moments of the 2024 US Open was when Aryna Sabalenka got to meet a little girl who had been cheering her on throughout her second-round match against Lucia Bronzetti. The girl was wearing the same dress Sabalenka sported on-court, complete with a temporary tiger tattoo just like the eventual champion’s and holding a tiger stuffed animal. When the match finished, Sabalenka lifted the little girl onto the court to take pictures with her and sign her jumbo pink tennis ball.
“It was [a] really adorable moment,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “I just looked up, and I saw on the big screen, like, mini me! It was so cute… It's such a motivation to keep going to inspire the young generation," she continued. "That's the main goal. Yeah, that was [a] very adorable moment.”
And just like that ... the power of tennis went viral.
