The Best Way to Watch the US Open? In Ralph Lauren’s Suite With 20 Olympic Athletes

With all respect to Ben Shelton and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who battled it out in the round of 16 at the US Open on Sunday, the highest concentration of athletic talent in Arthur Ashe Stadium that evening was 25 rows above the court in the Ralph Lauren suite.In a savvy bit of cross-promotion, Ralph hosted a group of more than 20 pro athletes—mostly Olympians and Paralympians from Team USA, for whom the brand has served as official outfitter since Beijing 2008, alongside a handful of RL golf ambassadors—in their freshly renovated digs at the Open, where the consummate American designer has now been the official apparel sponsor for more than two decades.Beyond the instant photo-op potential of having a crowd of strapping jocks decked out in head-to-toe Polo at the buzziest annual sporting event in New York City, the gathering was also a great show of just how many people could comfortably fit in the old-school country club-esque space, finely appointed by the Ralph Lauren Home team with saddle leather banquettes, oak floors, and hammered brass accents.Weston Wells / Courtesy of Ralph Lauren“It feels very Ralph,” said Maia Shibutani, the two-time Olympic ice dancing bronze medallist, as she sipped on a cocktail at the long, white paneled bar. “Very Ralph,” agreed Alex Shibutani, Maia’s older brother and skating partner. “It really reflects the scope of his world building.”That extends to the food offerings, which includes full sit-down lunch and dinner options borrowed directly from the menu of Lauren’s vaunted Polo Bar in Midtown Manhattan, including a top-notch shrimp cocktail, grilled Scottish salmon, and probably the best ribeye steak I’ve had in years. “It brings a different level of elegance when you’re able to have a sit-down dinner inside of a suite,” said Jack Wallace, a three-time gold medallist in Paralympic sled hockey. “Any other sporting event suite I’ve been in, it’s always just a buffet and you’re making a little plate, so to have something like this, at the US Open especially, is a really cool experience.”That night, though, the real emphasis was on all these high-level athletes getting to catch up, trade notes, and kick back together while somebody else competed for once. “There's such a kinship,” Maia explained, “where even if you have different experiences, you understand the struggle or hardships that you had to overcome to reach this level. And so for me, I always feel like it’s the first day at the school cafeteria in a good way, where I just want to meet everyone.”Gymnast Fred Richard, who took home bronze in the men’s team event at the 2024 Paris Games, was floating around the room, soaking up the camaraderie. “It feels like this great family reunion,” he told me, “but then we’re all saying, ‘Why are we not doing this more often?’”And then there was the actual tennis, for which many of the guests were, in fact, very much locked in on. Nearly all of the athletes I spoke to fell into one of two camps. Either they were able to just enjoy that night’s match as something totally separate from their day jobs, like Paralympic high jump gold medallist Roderick Townsend, who told me, “It's cool to be able to be up here and have no skin in the game and just root everybody on and watch people give it their all.”Or they couldn’t help but directly relate to the intensity and determination on display under the lights, like three-time Olympic ice dancing medallists—and spouses—Madison Chock and Evan Bates. “Thankfully it’s not triggering at all,” Chock said, “but when we stepped out there and saw Ben and Tsitsipas warming up, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, they’re so focused.’ I know what it feels like to have those jitters—that butterfly feeling right before you are about to go.”“It’s something that's so foreign,” Bates added of tennis, “but at the same time there’s similarities and I’m just fascinated by their approach. I will always admire and appreciate that opportunity to see a master of their craft, whether it’s tennis or painting or whatever it may be. I love seeing people who are exceptional at what they’re doing, because I just feel like what it takes to get to that level is the same across all industries.”One notable outlier? Paralympic swimmer Jamal Hill. “I wish,” the bronze medallist said, laughing, when I asked if he’s a big tennis fan. “I’m just an athlete in the sense that I do my sport and go home. I don’t watch sports.”Weston Wells / Courtesy of Ralph LaurenWeston Wells / Courtesy of Ralph LaurenWhat do you like to watch instead? I wondered.“Entertainment isn’t really one of my hobbies,” he replied. “I have a Spanish tutor. I’ve been studying Spanish for years. I take math classes. Calculus.”Just for fun?“Yeah, just for fun. Because in school, I was always the kid where being an athlete was plan B for me. Plan A was to be a nerd. Long story short, I didn’t cut it on the nerd side, so I had to be a swimmer… Life’s got to be more than sports, man. You got to have some style in there, too. We got to look good.”Needless to say, everybody in the room that night did, in fact, look good.