By Field Level Media
Sep 13 (Field Level Media) - The chance to witness tennis history has yet to restoke ticket prices for Sunday's men's final at the U.S. Open in New York.
Ben Shelton is the first Black American male singles player to reach the championship match since Arthur Ashe in 1972. He will take on No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev at the stadium named after Ashe as Shelton attempts to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open 23 years ago.
The get-in price for Sunday's final remains steep at $388, according to TicketData.com. However, that does represent a 27% drop over the past three days. The get-in price has remained relatively stable in the 24 hours since Shelton beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe in their primetime semifinal match. The price did drop to $361 on Saturday afternoon before climbing back up to $400 ahead of the latest dip at 11 p.m. ET.
The average get-in price through the first 15 days of the tournament has been $246, which is down from $313 at the same point last year, according to TicketData.com. The get-in price for Saturday's women's final between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka settled at $314, a 20% drop over the previous three days. Rybakina won her first U.S. Open crown with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over the two-time defending champion.
Shelton, 23, is the No. 8 seed and will be playing in his first Grand Slam final. He is 0-5 in his career against Germany's Zverev, 29, who claimed his first Grand Slam title earlier this year at the French Open. All five of their previous meetings came during a 16-month stretch spanning August 2024 to November 2025, and none came in a Grand Slam event.
Shelton also is the first Black U.S. man to compete in a Grand Slam final since MaliVai Washington lost in the 1996 Wimbledon final.
Discussing his feelings about following Ashe to the U.S. Open championship match, Shelton said, "It's a lot of emotion. My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position. ... I'm going to need (the fans) on Sunday to bring the energy. I'm going for it here. I'm gonna leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come and back me. Let's do it for the USA."
(--Field Level Media)
