The first time Pat Cash came to the US Open, as a junior in 1982, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, or more accurately, what he was smelling.
"There was a cloud of smoke coming from one of the hot dog stands by the court," the former Wimbledon champion said during BBC radio commentary this week. "It was crazy."
It didn't put Cash off, though. He went on to win the boys title that year, and made it to the semis of the men's event in 1984. "I played on the original Super Saturday," he said, referring to the change in schedule that year to play both men's semifinals on the Saturday, sandwiched by the women's final.
Roland Garros has its chic, Wimbledon has its all-white clothing and traditions, and the Australian Open is the "Happy Slam," a term coined by Roger Federer.
By contrast, the US Open has the aroma of burgers, the occasional sound of planes buzzing overhead from nearby LaGuardia Airport and, in recent years, the smell of marijuana drifting around the grounds, as well as an ambient buzz that never goes away.
"It's a lot, right?" Alex de Minaur said Wednesday, recalling his first visit.
Everything about the US Open seems bigger and louder. Germany's Angelique Kerber, who won the US Open in 2016, said the noise was the hardest thing to get used to.
"It was crazy," she said at a media briefing hosted by Rolex at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday. "I remember my first match, it was a night session against Serena [Williams]. I lost, but I remember going out through the tunnel, and it was so loud. They call your name, you get in, and you look up, and it's not stopping. It was amazing.
"And of course, the changeover [when a DJ plays music and the TV cameras focus on famous faces in the crowd] is like a party. ... I really enjoyed it a lot, not only Ashe, but also the outside courts. It's really loud. And you could smell the burgers and stuff."
Planes were already an issue when the US Open was played at Forest Hills in Queens, but they became an even bigger problem after the move to Flushing Meadows in 1978, with the sound of them overhead drowning out the sound of racket on ball, which players use as an indicator of power, spin and trajectory. It took an intervention from the late New York Mayor David Dinkins in the early 1990s to get the airport to change the flight paths to avoid Flushing Meadows during the tournament.
Still, the noise can sometimes be too loud for players to handle. Britain's Arthur Fery put in his earplugs a number of times during his first-round match defeat by Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. It's something he has done elsewhere, but in New York, it was even more needed.
"I keep them in the bag and I take them out when I feel like I need them," said Fery, who reached the semifinal at Wimbledon earlier this summer as a qualifier. "[I do it] when I'm getting frustrated or a bit irritated or feel like it's just loud around.
"With the quick turnaround from Winston-Salem and everything, I felt like I wasn't fully recovered, so I made an effort at the start of the match to try and put them in, block out the noise at changeovers, try to get myself to focus on my tennis rather than what was around."
In the past few years, the smell of burgers and hot dogs has had a rival: the smell of weed, which was legalized in New York in 2021. Several players, especially those playing on the outside courts adjacent to Corona Park, have complained about it.
Many, including Ben Shelton, say they love the noise and excitement created by the crowds. "It's the only time in our sport that you get to hear 20,000 people screaming your name," he said. "The sport's culture here in New York is something that you don't experience anywhere else in the world and that's why this is the greatest tournament and tennis stadium in the world."
De Minaur, though, said it was important to find a balance, including finding some quiet time. "Over the years, I've learned what I like and what I don't like about the city," he said. This year, for the first time, we're staying in a different area, a little bit more quiet. I'm always trying to find the quiet, chilled out places wherever I go."
And the burger smell? "Well, if I am allowed to have a burger, it's all good," he said.
