US Open 2026: Kids' Day
Sports · Tennis · US Open 2026
Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day
The US Open’s free, all-day family festival — where your kid can hit on the same courts as the pros. This year it kicks off the whole tournament. Here’s what’s there for the kids, and how to do the day.
Where to go
Where on the grounds
The day happens all over the National Tennis Center. Here’s where the big things are — hover or tap a marker for who each one is for.
The USTA doesn’t publish an exact per-court map for Kids’ Day, so this plan marks only the areas that are reliably known — the show inside Ashe, the practice courts, and the field courts where the on-court clinics run — plus the kinds of activity to expect. Treat exact court assignments as day-of surprises.
Grounds plan from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL).
For the kids
What your kids can do
A festival’s worth of things to do, from the littlest fans to tennis-mad teens. Tap your kid’s age to see where I’d start.
Age bands are just a guide to what tends to land best — every activity welcomes every kid. Tap an age to see the ones I’d start with.
Do the day
Plan your day
A rough shape to build arrival, seats, and nap-time around.
- Late morningThe stadium showThe main event in Arthur Ashe Stadium (roughly 11:00–12:30 in 2025) — get in early for a seat.
- MiddayWander the groundsFace-painting, balloon art, roving entertainers and food stands are open all day — a good nap-adjacent lull.
- Early afternoonKids on the courtsOn-court clinics, drills and contests (about 1:00–3:00 in 2025) — the hit-on-a-real-court moment.
- All afternoonWatch the pros practiceStars warm up on the practice courts through the day — wander over between activities.
- Into the eveningFan Week rolls onKids’ Day opens a whole free week — qualifying starts Tuesday, Aug 25, if you’re making a return trip.
Times follow the 2025 pattern and shift year to year; the USTA posts the exact 2026 clock closer to the day. Plan around the shape, and check usopen.org the week of. As of 2026-07-14.
The main event
The stadium show
The one everybody gathers for — and it’s free.
Once a day, the festival moves indoors for the big show in Arthur Ashe Stadium — the largest tennis stadium in the world. In recent years it’s been a high-energy mix: a Dude Perfect–style trick-shot and games set, a few rising musical acts, and pro players jumping in for a loose, family-friendly exhibition. It’s loud, it’s silly, and it’s the emotional centre of the day.
The 2026 line-up isn’t announced yet — the USTA typically reveals the performers and player guests about two weeks out. When it lands, it’ll be on the official Kids’ Day page; the show itself is free with grounds admission, so there’s no ticket to buy ahead.
The name
Who was Arthur Ashe
Why the day carries his name.
The day carries Arthur Ashe’s name for a reason. Ashe won the very first US Open in 1968 and became the first Black man to win a Grand Slam men’s singles title — then spent his life using that platform for others, especially kids and access to the game.
Kids’ Day is that idea made real for an afternoon: throw the gates open, put a racquet in every hand, and make the sport feel like it belongs to everyone. That’s the whole point of the day — and it’s why the stadium finals court, too, bears his name (see the grounds plan).
Before you go
A parent’s checklist
The handful of things worth sorting before you make the trip to Flushing Meadows.
- Grab a free Fan Access PassDuring Fan Week the free digital Fan Access Pass is required for every adult 18 and over — get it in the US Open app and add it to your phone’s wallet before you go. Kids don’t need one.
- Come early for the showThe stadium show fills up. Arrive with time to find seats, then work the festival afterward.
- Pack for a long, hot daySunscreen, water, hats, and a stroller for little legs — late August in Queens is warm and it’s a big campus.
- All ages, all abilitiesThere’s something for a toddler and for a tennis-obsessed teen; you don’t need to play to have a great day.
- Getting thereThe 7 train runs straight to Mets–Willets Point, right at the gates — the easy, car-free way in from Manhattan.
The bigger picture
The day is the mission
Free isn’t a gimmick — it’s the whole idea.
Kids’ Day isn’t a marketing add-on — the free festival is the mission. It’s powered by Net Generation, the USTA’s youth-tennis program, and it feeds the USTA Foundation and its National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, which brings tennis and education to kids who might never otherwise get a racquet in their hands.
So the day does double duty: your family gets a free, joyful afternoon at a Grand Slam, and the whole thing keeps Arthur Ashe’s work going. Qualifying and the rest of Fan Week are free too — see how the Open stays open.