While millions of people are aware of the players that grace the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, far fewer are aware of the people who work on the grounds and make the US Open the spectacular event it is, from those who keep the grounds sparkling to the friendly faces who greet every visitor who walks through the gates.
Now that the trophies have been awarded, it's time to recognize some of the folks who help the tournament run smoothly and ensure that all players and fans have an amazing experience.
Yamini Dalal
Yamini Dalal didn't grow up playing a lot of tennis, but started to fall in love with the sport after she worked at the 2024 US Open. This year, she worked at Stadium 17 as a court attendant, ensuring players had what they needed, getting racquets restrung, stocking the courts and making sure the umpires had everything they needed.
Dalal works as a sports photographer throughout the year. However, she thinks of the US Open as a type of reset, experiencing a different part of the industry.
"I like to use the Open as like something different. I'm seeing it from a different perspective and it gives me that little break from my own bubble that I'm in of photography. Just to experience something else and give myself a little bit of a break but also still do something that love."
One of her favorite parts of the tournament is the community, from people in other departments to those she's with every day on court, and even the players and umpires.
"I just had a really great time at the Open this year, especially, and the community that we've all built, even through different departments," she said. "I feel like the whole community that we have there is just such a big factor."
Sharif Cobb
Players can always find Sharif Cobb in the Player Hallway, catching up with players, asking about their days and giving them some riddles to solve over the course of the day. Now working at his sixth US Open, he has formed strong bonds with the players, some of them even calling out to him if they ever see him on the streets of Manhattan.
"The Riddler," as he is known by many, loves to give the players a mental break and give them a chance to think about something other than the on-court action. He has several repeat customers, including Tommy Paul, Mackenzie McDonald, Ethan Quinn, Taylor Townsend, Hailey Baptiste and Daniel Evans. Even event staff search him out to get the day's riddle.
"It's fun and it makes time go by faster for me. I feel like we're both helping each other. It makes the day go by fast for me and it takes their mind off tennis, so it's like a win-win," he said.
"It's really not work to me, it's just like, let me go catch up with the best tennis players in the world now."
Arantxa Garduno
Arantxa Garduno speaks five languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese, and has had the opportunity to use just about all of them while working in Guest Services at Grandstand. She loved seeing a bunch of the big players, while also being close enough to the action to really see everything up close.
She went to high school at IMG Academy for tennis, and loves being around the sport while helping visitors. She even overlapped with Fanny Stollar when she was at IMG, and Renata Zarazua when she attended a tennis academy back in Mexico.
"We're all here for one reason: tennis. We love tennis in some way, shape or form," she said. "I love to tell them all like the inside tips."
Garduno said she can see the relief on some of the guests' faces when she speaks to them in their native language, because she feels as though she can really connect with them and help make their day a little bit better.
"I have a very close connection to tennis, and this kind of environment is really familiar with me because of my experience and my life at IMG was a tennis campus. That literally was my life for my high school. I like helping people. I always like to do that and the language comes along with that, the knowledge of tennis comes along with that."
"The biggest thing I love working at the US Open is how close I am to the action itself and how close I get to be people with the same passion," she said.
