How To Attend the Miami Open Like a Pro
The ultimate guide to navigating the 40th Miami Open tennis tournament.
40 years ago, Butch Buchholz, a former player and president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) brought a tennis tournament to South Florida with an ambitious goal: to create a two-week tournament like the sport’s four majors (The Austrailian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open) but organized and run by players. The 1985 Lipton International Players Championships was a bit of a mess. It was played in Delray Beach at a tennis resort owned by Ian Laver, a second cousin of tennis legend Rod Laver, who would die in a plane crash just six months after the tournament.
The weather was awful, scores were misreported and John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors refused to play, with McEnroe explaining that he didn’t want to help Laver sell condos at his resort. Martina Navratilova, who beat Chris Evert in the women’s final, said of the tournament, “There are some fantastic things and some awful things, nothing in between.”
The tournament, now officially called the Miami Open presented by Itaú and taking place March 16–30 this year, has found a home at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens after 32 years at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne. Some fans of the former atmospheric venue regard the tournament in its current incarnation as a mixed bag, just as Navratilova described it 40 years ago. As an avid tennis player and enthusiast myself, I’ve been to the tournament the last three years and despite some frustrations, I still feel like a kid in a candy shop every time I enter the grounds. I love getting to see the world’s best tennis players and would happily walk over hot coals and broken glass to do so. It’s a great tournament, but it’s even better if you have a plan—so here’s a guide to help you maximize your experience.
Who’s Playing? Nearly all of the sport’s top talent will be in action this year, save for Jannik Sinner, who is out on a three-month doping suspension. The field includes 15 Grand Slam tournament champions, including 24-time champion Novak Djokovic, who hasn’t played in Florida since 2019, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Florida natives Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins—plus every other player ranked inside the ATP’s top 70 rankings. The always entertaining and oft injured Aussie Nick Kyrgios is also set to continue his comeback at the tournament this year. The Miami Open Wheelchair Invitational starts during the second week of the tournament, and, for the first time, padel, a racquet sport that’s popular in Latin America, will make its debut with a new tournament on the premises called the Publix Padel Cup.
When to Go
Some tennis fans love to attend what’s called the “business end” of tournaments near the final, but I love to be there early on when the entire player field is there and every court is crammed with matches and the world’s best players practicing. Go on a weekday, as weekends at the Miami Open can be chaotic, and attend a day session, where you’ll see much more action than night sessions, which typically feature only a few matches. If you go for the “qualies”— the qualifying tournament of players trying to fight their way into the main draw—you can still see top players practicing, and tickets are free on Sunday, March 16, and just $20 on March 17 and 18.
What tickets should I buy?
There’s no getting around the venue’s primary weakness: the cavernous Hard Rock Stadium was designed for football, not tennis. I mostly avoid the stadium court because unless you spend up for great seats, you won’t be very close to the action. I would rather be 5 feet away from a player ranked #50 then 200 feet away from the big stars in the stadium, and, in any case, the stars can still be seen on the more intimate practice courts as well.
I often buy grounds passes, which are typically $30-40 plus fees depending on the session and will get you into any court, save the stadium. Download the Miami Open app, consult the practice schedule and you’ll be able to see the top players up close and personal on the practice courts. Get there at 10 AM, when the gates open and, at least in the first week of the tournament, you’ll have an opportunity to get a great view of the tennis stars practicing. If you plan to attend multiple sessions, it’s worth looking into the tournament’s mini plans, which start at $200.
The only rub with the outside courts is there is little to no shade, so I sometimes seek respite in Hard Rock Stadium just to cool off, even though I don’t prefer it. If you plan to buy tickets in the stadium and want to be in shade, the south side of the stadium is a good bet. Sections 243-249, 143, 144, 148, 149 and 72 club are all in continuous shade, while sections 101,102, 115 and 116 are likely to be in the shade for a good portion of the day session. 300 level seats are the cheapest, but they are too far from the action unless you have a very good pair of binoculars.
Pro tip: They often schedule the best players practice sessions on courts 9 and 10. There’s an intimate court named after Bucholz that I enjoy and the Grandstand court is also a great venue. If there’s a popular player scheduled to play doubles on a small court, get there well in advance to cop a seat!
Should I pay $40 to park?
No! If you pay for parking in advance, you’ll save $10 off the drive-up rate. I’ve found that an even better option is to take an Uber or Lyft to the stadium because getting in and out of the lots at peak times can be frustrating. I prefer to stay at the Stadium Hotel, which is technically in walking distance from the stadium—if you don’t mind taking your life in your hands walking on a busy road with no sidewalk (I will never do that again!). A better option is to park in their lot and take a ride share about five minutes to the venue, which typically costs $10 or less. The hotel is nothing fancy, and their free breakfast is penitentiary quality, but the rooms are comfortable, and the location is unbeatable. I’ve also stayed at the Springhill Suites Fort Lauderdale, which is just a ten minute ride from the stadium. It’s a fairly new hotel and the rooms are comfortable, but the service when I stayed there left a lot to be desired.
What to Bring
Aside from plenty of money, as concessions don’t come cheap, bring a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag no bigger than 12” by 6” and 12” or a one-gallon clear Ziploc for your sunscreen and other items. (You can also bring a clutch bag or purse, and if you forget your sunscreen, they’ll give you some for free in the first aid booth.) You can bring a sealed bottle of water no bigger than 1 liter. Then refill it as often as you like at the water fountain outside the Grandstand. (This will save you a fortune!) Don’t forget to bring a sun hat, you’ll need it on the outside courts.
Do I need to take out a second mortgage to afford lunch?
Hopefully not. I could write a book about the high cost of concessions, but the reality is that every major sporting event offers gotcha prices and the Miami Open is no different. Plan to spend at least $20 on lunch and potentially much more on snacks and drinks. (I once bought a $25 Oakberry acai at the tournament!) The venue has a host of new dining options this year, including an outpost of the posh Mediterranean restaurant Fabel, which has an $18 chocolate chunk cookie and a $150 Wagyu New York strip steak in its Wynwood location, among other pricey delicacies. Brugal, the Dominican rum distillery, will serve up, (excuse the pun) cocktails in a new booth, and there’s a new Del Monte smoothie booth as well. Kiki on the River is a good, although a bit overpriced, Greek restaurant, where you can take a load off, enjoy a nice view of the venue and take a ($10 per person) gondola ride around the grounds. Other options include pizza, tacos, burgers, sushi, oysters, arepas, sandwiches and the excellent Angie’s Epicurean Ice Cream among other options.
Pro tip: The shops are overpriced, of course, but Tennis Plaza is the best bet for souvenirs, tennis outfits and equipment. I like to buy their high-quality Miami Open tennis towels—last year they were $40—and use them to sit on and to towel off on sweaty or rainy days.
