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The “Grand Slam” strikes again.
Chaos engulfed US Open fans after Coco Gauff’s semifinal loss Thursday night — as exhausted attendees faced insane rideshare price hikes for short journeys, ridiculously long wait times and heavy traffic when exiting Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The troublesome transit situation has been pissing off tennis fans trying to snag a ride after matches since last year, when US Open organizers first changed the designated pick-up/drop-off lot from its longtime spot at the Unisphere outside USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to Lot H of the New York Hall of Science.
Though the change was made in an effort to simplify transit, one anonymous tournament worker told The Post that it spurred the opposite effect and was “confusing everyone,” adding that there have been “a lot of complaints about the entire system.”
This year’s attendees, like Silvio Silva, agree, complaining that the US Open transit chaos has only grown worse, stooping to a new low this year.
The 29-year-old New Yorker and his friend, Patrick Kana, were appalled by the insane prices that appeared on their Uber app when trying to catch a ride home Tuesday night after what was declared the latest match in the tournament’s 145-year history, which wrapped up at 3:33 a.m.
To get from the Flushing Meadows venue to Valley Stream, Long Island — a ride that would normally only cost around $55 — ranged from $197.97 for an UberXl, $275.96 for an UberX, with priority pick-up ringing in at $283.99 Tuesday night.
In an Instagram reel posted by Silva, Kana holds his phone showing the price hikes and joked that he “might just sleep” at the Queens stadium, before the pair walked a short distance to Lot E by the nearby Home Depot to call an Uber for a comparatively reasonable $56 ($65 without his small discount).
Kana told The Post that the combination of the stadium’s wildly large crowds herding towards public transit and their own sleep deprivation made them yearn for the theoretical ease of Uber.
“At 4 a.m. after sitting through a long match, it was definitely frustrating,” he told The Post, saying that he and Silva have also experienced the annoyance of multiple last-minute canceled Uber rides after other matches.
Some attendees even accused Uber drivers of blocking other cheaper rideshare companies from getting to riders.
“You’ve just had this amazing experience watching the US Open, you’re tired, and then suddenly going home becomes another major expense and something you have to strategize around,” he added.
Despite their frustration, Silva empathized with the tournament workers who he assumed would have to stay even later and potentially need to navigate the rideshare craziness themselves after an exceptionally long shift.
“We didn’t take it kindly because we know we’re not the only people in [that] scenario,” he told The Post.
Eleanora Srugo, a 38-year-old real estate broker, shared this frustration.
She told The Post that while she typically hires a personal driver to chauffeur her to and from the tournament, making her annual trip, she “did not think I was going to need him until 4 a.m.” on Tuesday.
Srugo, who said she hasn’t been able to figure out how to get her driver the credentials necessary to use the designated VIP zones (which the US Open reserves for high-tier package holders and luxury suite guests at various exclusive entry points for smoother arrival and departure), described the rideshare pickup zone as a “s–t show.”
To get back to Manhattan, she settled on a yellow cab idling nearby for a $120 flat fee to avoid actually entering Lot H, strategically sidestepping the commotion and long Uber wait times.
“All of the cabs and Ubers were sort of waiting in this one lane that they could not get out of,” Srugo recalled. “So once they had entered that lane, they were there — my yellow cab was in there — for an hour,” proving that even taxis weren’t immune to this chaos.
Tennis fan and New York digital creator Ektaa Dutt, who wrote a detailed post in late August titled, “How to do the US Open Right: A Lifelong New Yorker’s Guide,” in her Substack “Sweet Escape in the City,” has seen Uber wait times take up to 45 minutes, point-blank telling The Post, “The long wait times are not worth it.”
“You’re stuck sitting in traffic, exiting the grounds as well. So it definitely just feels it feels more chaotic, even though you might think you’re saving your time.”
She said she appreciated USTA’s attempt to streamline transit by moving the designated rideshare lot to the New York Hall of Science, but due to the wild demand from attendees this year, the venue “can’t keep up.”
“It’s just hard to corral the huge groups of crowds into that one space,” complained Dutt. “And then online, the Uber app itself is really hard to then kind of push out Ubers for people. So the demand, I don’t think, is keeping up with the amount of people that are there.”
For Lauren Cobello, a public relations firm owner who regularly attends the US Open for brand activations, spares herself the rideshare aggravation by taking public transportation to and from the center if she can.
Or, like many others who wised up after Tuesday’s late-night fiasco, schedules a ride a few days in advance to keep the price down.
“Let’s say you scheduled [an Uber] to pick you up in half an hour —you’re going to also save money that way…When the match ends, that’s when the prices jump up,” explained Cobello.
When asked about this worsening rideshare situation, senior Uber rep Josh Gold told The Post that “fares in New York are driven by some of the highest costs in the country,” adding that “what people experienced during the US Open is the collision of those government-mandated costs with surging demand at a major event.”
However, he expressed frustration, saying that the rideshare pickup area is “managed by event and public safety officials, not Uber,” and that it has been designated for use by all rideshare and for-hire vehicle providers.
Gold also claimed that Uber has tried to partner with USTA on logistics and additional transportation options that could improve the current congestion and the fan experience, but that they’ve “not ever been able to reach an agreement” and Uber is “just as frustrated as New Yorkers are.”
The Post reached out to USTA and the US Open for comment, but has not received a response.
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