“This isn’t my normal U.S. Open,” said Andy Roddick, the former professional tennis player.
It was early in the evening on Monday, the first day of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Mr. Roddick had just walked a red carpet inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, N.Y., and was chatting with a friend on a beige couch inside the President’s Suite. The sprawling two-story space, with unbeatable views of the court, is by invitation only. Mr. Roddick, despite having won the Grand Slam in 2003, had never been inside — until now.
“I used to see everyone go inside in their nice clothes when I was a player,” he said, laughing. “Now I can finally see inside.”
The occasion was the U.S. Open Opening Night Gala, an annual event that supports the U.S.T.A. Foundation’s pledge to help 150,000 underserved young people in America play tennis. This year it raised $2.2 million and attracted 173 guests, including the songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, the actor Alec Baldwin, the ballet dancer Misty Copeland, the former tennis player Stan Smith and, of course, Mr. Roddick.
“It’s really nice here,” Mr. Roddick said. Indeed, the suite was full of friendly servers passing around unlimited champagne and Honey Deuces. One wall had a candy bar; another, an espresso bar. Snacks appeared throughout the evening. Guests arrived through a dedicated entrance.
“I’m going to come back even if I’m not invited,” Mr. Roddick joked, clarifying he had some experience entering forbidden sections of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. When he was 9, he sneaked into the players’ lounge as workers took out the trash.
That caper showed him the perks of being a professional tennis player: “There was free food and video games,” he said.
For many partygoers, the U.S. Open marked the end of summer and the start of New York City’s busy fall season. Guests used the evening to catch up with one another, both personally and professionally.
“Hi, girls,” Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue, said as she waltzed into the room in a black-and-white floor-length dress and greeted the designer Vera Wang as well as the philanthropist Cheryl Scharf.
Mr. Miranda spent most of the evening in deep conversation with his wife and parents. “I am off duty,” he said early in the evening.
Ryan Serhant, the real estate broker and star of the show “Owning Manhattan” on Netflix, was working the room.
“It’s good to be at parties like this, in places where our clients are,” he said. He was specifically trying to find a buyer for a $250 million penthouse at Central Park Tower, which was featured in “Owning Manhattan.”
Just after 6 p.m., guests moved upstairs for a seated dinner of primavera tarts and green peppercorn filets with champagne served out of silver U.S. Open goblets.
Chris Evert, a former tennis player, gave a speech toasting Mr. Roddick, who received an award for his foundation. Mr. Baldwin led a spirited auction of items like a personal design session with Ms. Wang and lunch with Tommy Haas, a retired player who was also in attendance.
In between courses, Ms. Copeland revealed that this was her first trip to the Open. “I’m not not a fan,” she said. “It’s just not something I grew up watching.”
Ms. Copeland hadn’t researched the game, but she said she had watched the movie “Challengers.” “I’m excited to just experience it all for the first time,” she said.
Ally Love, the fitness instructor, said she had been watching tennis since she was a child. “When I first came to New York for school, I used to get the cheapest tickets I could get and sit there all day in the seat at the very top of the stadium,” she said. “It was a great time.”
She reflected on how popular tennis seemed to be at the moment — the U.S. Open set a record with 200,000 visitors during this year’s fan week, a 37 percent increase from last year — and offered an explanation.
“Many different types of people are seeing themselves on the court on the faces of Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka,” she said. “You see the diversity on the court, you see yourself represented, and that makes the sport enticing.”
Mr. Roddick also noted that the tournament had expanded its food, beverage and fashion offerings. “They’ve done a great job of creating an event outside the actual event,” he said.
Mr. Haas, who is also the tournament director of the Indian Wells Open, said he believed tennis had improved its offerings as well. “I’m all for making an experience for fans,” he said. “It’s very important that they feel comfortable and have all the amenities they need and are entertained.”
A few minutes after 7 p.m., guests were ushered back downstairs where they watched the tournament’s opening ceremony, followed by its opening match, in which Sloane Stephens of the United States lost to Clara Burel of France in three sets.
On the way out, guests were given a party gift: an autographed Stan Smith shoe in a commemorative glass box.
