The cozy spaces of the Delray Beach Open offer unique experiences in the professional tennis world

@TennisUitgever

In her Substack column ‘Hard Court’ from the Delray Beach Open, fashion and beauty journalist Jessica Scheffer described this ATP Tour 250 level event as “incredibly charming, with a country atmosphere, decent food… and a very blurred boundary between player and public areas, which would be a dream for any tennis fan.” That’s an excellent description of this cozy cauldron of professional tennis, located along the bustling entertainment strip of Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Florida.

I was reminded of this intimacy as I watched a doubles quarterfinal during the Thursday session of the tournament. It featured American Davis Cup and Olympic hero Austin Krajicek and partner Nikola Mektic of Croatia against the uniquely dressed Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Matthew Romios of Australia. I shuffled with my friend Bill Meyer into the front row of seats on the complex’s Court 1, the smaller of the two competition courts located in the shadow of the stadium field. We happened to be sitting right behind Behar and Romios on their bench on the right side. And when I say right behind Behar and Romios, I might be right behind them! When we were closer, we sat next to them or on their laps. We were almost as close as a Davis Cup captain would coach players. The ball kids almost tripped over us while holding umbrellas over the players at the substitutions. I have been involved in competitive tennis for almost 40 years and I don’t think I have ever been this close to a competitive tennis match, let alone an ATP Tour level match. And this was where every fan could sit!

And it’s not just players you can get close to at the Delray Beach Open.

If you’re curious about how the pros string their rackets while they’re on site, you can just walk over to the official tournament stringers, who camp in a tent right next to Court 1. Craig Brotman, who also strings from our Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Vero Beach, Florida, will answer your questions about what strings and tensions the pros use, just like his fellow stringers. For example, Zach Svajda strung his racquet at 36 pounds, the lowest of any player at the 2026 event. As I was chatting with Craig about our 2026 Mardy Fish event, and how adding some weight to my Wilson Burn FST racquet can help ease the pain in my elbow joints, Michael Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, walked alongside us and checked in his racquets for his lead, rising American star Learner Ten. What was surprising to me is that if you bring your racket to these stringers, they will even string it for you on the spot at the event, provided it does not conflict or delay their official work for the ATP players.