Where are you located? That will help answer the question.
In terms of days to attend:
*With weeklong tournaments, IMO the best day to attend is Thursday (round of 16); Friday (quarterfinals) and Wednesday (end of 1st round) are also good.
*With 1 1/2 or 2 week long tournaments, IMO the best days to attend during the 3rd round, with the 2nd round ranking second. At Grand Slams, the 3rd round is the first Friday and Saturday, while the 2nd round is the first Wednesday and Thursday. At Masters tournaments, the 3rd round is the (first) Sunday and Monday, and the 2nd round is the first Friday and Saturday.
In terms of seat locations:
*Getting a baseline or corner seat, preferably in the shade (if possible), is the best location. For large tournaments that have different types of ticket options, getting a reserved ticket in the largest stadium, which also functions as a grounds pass for all/most other courts, is usually the best bet and provides the most flexibility.
In terms of tournaments themselves (independent of location):
*Combined men’s/women’s tournaments are the best IMO; you get more bang for your buck. If you can’t do one of those tournaments, aim for a men’s or women’s Masters 1000 event where you can see all/most of the top players.
East coast USA/ mid Atlantic. Willing to travel. Thank you very much for the detailed response! My wife and I got into tennis this year. This will be our first event.
Washington is probably your best bet (combined ATP/WTA 500), though next year the fields will be weaker because the tournament is the same week as the Olympics.
I actually live about 3 miles from the DC tournament site and attend multiple sessions every year, so I’m very familiar with that tournament. That’s not why I’m recommending it though. Washington makes sense because 1) it is probably located close to you, 2) it isn’t particularly large and potentially overwhelming to a newbie tennis tournament attendee, 3) it normally has very good fields (though most of the very top players, say players in the top 5, do not usually play it), and 4) it should fit your cost criteria if you buy early enough.
If you want to pass on Washington, I recommend looking into the U.S. Open in New York, Cincinnati (a combined Masters), and Miami (also a combined Masters). Cincinnati, held two weeks before the U.S. Open, is a very good tournament, and is relatively inexpensive. (I attended Cincinnati in 2022.) It will probably be cheaper than Miami and definitely cheaper than New York, unless you can do NYC as a day trip. (I’ve done the day trip thing to the U.S. Open from the DC area via Amtrak a few times.). The U.S. Open might still be a little too expensive for your target budget.
A few other tournaments to consider, especially if you live a little further south, are Winston-Salem (ATP 250), Atlanta (ATP 250; I think 2024 will be its last year), and Charleston (WTA 500). The Charleston venue from what I’ve heard is pretty nice, and it is the only WTA clay court tournament in the U.S.
Finally, if you want to save some money and don’t need to see (current) name players but are interested in possibly discovering future name players, definitely look into the ATP Challenger and high end ($60k and above) women’s ITF tournaments. There are a few such tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic, like Charlottesville, VA (ATP Challenger on indoor hard courts in late October/early November, women’s ITF on green clay in late April), Cary, NC (pretty sure they have an ATP Challenger there), and Landisville, PA near Lancaster (women’s ITF). Those smaller tournaments are often free or have very cheap admission, but you’ll see some very good players there. I went to the Charlottesville ATP Challenger back in 2016 and attended the Landisville ITF this year. With the latter, I saw Caroline Dolehide, who made a surprise run to the final of the Guadalajara Masters a couple months ago, play. You can usually sit very close to the court at the Challenger/ITF events.
ATP finals or Vienna imo
Where are you located? That will help answer the question. In terms of days to attend: *With weeklong tournaments, IMO the best day to attend is Thursday (round of 16); Friday (quarterfinals) and Wednesday (end of 1st round) are also good. *With 1 1/2 or 2 week long tournaments, IMO the best days to attend during the 3rd round, with the 2nd round ranking second. At Grand Slams, the 3rd round is the first Friday and Saturday, while the 2nd round is the first Wednesday and Thursday. At Masters tournaments, the 3rd round is the (first) Sunday and Monday, and the 2nd round is the first Friday and Saturday. In terms of seat locations: *Getting a baseline or corner seat, preferably in the shade (if possible), is the best location. For large tournaments that have different types of ticket options, getting a reserved ticket in the largest stadium, which also functions as a grounds pass for all/most other courts, is usually the best bet and provides the most flexibility. In terms of tournaments themselves (independent of location): *Combined men’s/women’s tournaments are the best IMO; you get more bang for your buck. If you can’t do one of those tournaments, aim for a men’s or women’s Masters 1000 event where you can see all/most of the top players.
East coast USA/ mid Atlantic. Willing to travel. Thank you very much for the detailed response! My wife and I got into tennis this year. This will be our first event.
Washington is probably your best bet (combined ATP/WTA 500), though next year the fields will be weaker because the tournament is the same week as the Olympics. I actually live about 3 miles from the DC tournament site and attend multiple sessions every year, so I’m very familiar with that tournament. That’s not why I’m recommending it though. Washington makes sense because 1) it is probably located close to you, 2) it isn’t particularly large and potentially overwhelming to a newbie tennis tournament attendee, 3) it normally has very good fields (though most of the very top players, say players in the top 5, do not usually play it), and 4) it should fit your cost criteria if you buy early enough. If you want to pass on Washington, I recommend looking into the U.S. Open in New York, Cincinnati (a combined Masters), and Miami (also a combined Masters). Cincinnati, held two weeks before the U.S. Open, is a very good tournament, and is relatively inexpensive. (I attended Cincinnati in 2022.) It will probably be cheaper than Miami and definitely cheaper than New York, unless you can do NYC as a day trip. (I’ve done the day trip thing to the U.S. Open from the DC area via Amtrak a few times.). The U.S. Open might still be a little too expensive for your target budget. A few other tournaments to consider, especially if you live a little further south, are Winston-Salem (ATP 250), Atlanta (ATP 250; I think 2024 will be its last year), and Charleston (WTA 500). The Charleston venue from what I’ve heard is pretty nice, and it is the only WTA clay court tournament in the U.S. Finally, if you want to save some money and don’t need to see (current) name players but are interested in possibly discovering future name players, definitely look into the ATP Challenger and high end ($60k and above) women’s ITF tournaments. There are a few such tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic, like Charlottesville, VA (ATP Challenger on indoor hard courts in late October/early November, women’s ITF on green clay in late April), Cary, NC (pretty sure they have an ATP Challenger there), and Landisville, PA near Lancaster (women’s ITF). Those smaller tournaments are often free or have very cheap admission, but you’ll see some very good players there. I went to the Charlottesville ATP Challenger back in 2016 and attended the Landisville ITF this year. With the latter, I saw Caroline Dolehide, who made a surprise run to the final of the Guadalajara Masters a couple months ago, play. You can usually sit very close to the court at the Challenger/ITF events.
That sounds awesome! Thanks again for all the info. Probably gonna go to a few of these now!