Op-Ed: US Open Is Too Pricey for Ordinary Fans

The world's most lucrative tennis tournament, the US Open, is booming in profits and attendance. The problem is that it's becoming difficult for ordinary fans to partake in the experience, writes economist Natasha Sarin in a New York Times opinion piece. It's the same issue plaguing music venues: Bots scoop up modestly priced tickets before the public has a chance, then resell them at steep markups. A one-day pass has a face value of $65, for example, but plan on shelling out close to $400 to get your hands on one. It doesn't have to be this way, writes Sarin, as a look around at how grand slams in other countries operate.

In Australia, France, and Britain, tickets cannot be resold, or must be resold for close to face value. At the very least, the US tournament should negotiate a price cap on resold tickets, as some musicians have done with Ticketmaster and other resellers. Sarin encourages the US Open to "actively pursue a lower bottom line—less revenue with lower-cost tickets and bigger prizes with more profit-sharing for athletes." Yes, the US Tennis Association gets most of its revenue from the tournament, but "there is likely room to do more with less," she writes. The alternative is alienating the very fans the sport needs to survive, she warns. Read the full column.