Unquestionably one among them is Serena Williams, who today provided yet another illustration of the ‘Serena effect’ when she announced she will retire after this year’s US Open and the younger Williams’ sister is widely regarded as the best tennis player in history.
There aren’t many athletes that are so tall that they have their own gravitational fields but Serena Williams showed that she could do anything with her height and that’s why US Open ticket sales significantly gone up when the tennis great, 41, declared that she will soon put her racket away.
Why do US Open ticket sales plummet after Serena’s retirement news?
More than 13,000 US Open tickets were sold in a single day following the disclosure of Serena Williams regarding her retirement because she has only lost three times before the quarterfinals of the US Open since her first professional game.
‘Unprecedented’ demand for US Open tickets results from Williams’ shocking retirement announcement, with some fans seeking to flip their $35 opening night seats for $7,000 according to many news.
United States Tennis Association (USTA) spokesperson Chris Widmaier told the New York Post that the level of demand for tickets exceeded everyone’s expectations and said, ‘You talk about the Serena effect, it’s like a tsunami.’
Widmaier also added, “Since people have learned of the news, we’ve sold, as of 3 p.m., 13,000 tickets to the Open.”
Mr. Chris again clarified, calling it “a great day.” and it could even be unprecedented.
Williams’ first match has drawn considerable attention, with upper deck tickets that normally cost less than $40 being resold for a staggering $6500 on the secondary market.
Furthermore, Serena may not even play on the opening night due to the draw being scheduled on the Thursday before the event, which adds to the demand.
On the other hand, she will be the favorite to win that match, but given her recent performance, spectators may be less inclined to buy tickets for the second round.
Serena, however, lost in the opening round of both of her most recent major tournaments, which both took place at Wimbledon.
Even so, the news said that as of Tuesday at 3 p.m., around 1,500 tickets for a potential Wednesday night second-round game had been sold.
