A prime seat at what could be tennis legend Serena Williams’ final match Friday night costs about as much as a year’s salary for the average American.
Williams, the 40-year-old winner of 23 grand slam tennis tournaments who is widely regarded as the greatest female player in the Open era, is scheduled to face Australian upstart Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens.
A glance at the secondary-market ticket exchange StubHub shows that a seat in Section 101, which offers an “unrestricted view” of the court, will set back a Serena superfan $48,500.
A more cost-conscious option for those eager to see Williams could pay $9,600 for a ticket to watch Serena and sister Venus play their first round doubles match — against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic — on Thursday night ar Arthur Ashe.
The demand to watch Serena Williams, who advanced to the third round on Wednesday night when she disposed of No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 7-6, 2-6, 6-2, is sending ticket prices sky high.
Adam Budelli, a spokesperson for StubHub, said that ticket prices increased some 75% for Wednesday night’s session from Monday night, when Serena Williams won her first-round match.
A year-over-year comparison finds that tickets for Wednesday night’s session cost 300% more, according to Front Office Sports.
Overall, ticket sales for the second round of the US Open have soared 50% compared to last year, another byproduct of what tennis observers are calling the “Serena Effect.”
The US Tennis Association told Fox Business Network that the average price of tickets on the resale market has surged 68% this year.
Tournament organizers are salivating at a potential finals appearance by Serena Williams, who has indicated that this will be her final tennis tournament. The price for this year’s women’s final jumped from $768 to $1,289, a 37% markup, according to the USTA.
“Ticket sales are incredibly strong,” Danny Zausner, the USTA’s chief operating officer, told Fox Business.
“This year, we are on track to break the record for 2019, and that was before Serena’s announcement that it would be her last Grand Slam tournament.”
The “Serena Effect” is also paying off huge dividends for ESPN, which owns exclusive rights to broadcast the US Open nationwide.
Her Monday night opening-round match against Montenegrin Danka Kovinić attracted 3.2 million viewers who tuned in to ESPN. The network’s digital properties generated an audience of 2 million unique users, making it the most watched US Open first round ever.
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