Rory McIlroy Spotted At US Open Tennis Semi-Final In New York

The four-time Major winner was spotted watching the men's semi-final between Francis Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz

Rory McIlroy at the US Open tennis
Rory McIlroy took advantage of a golf-free week to head to the US Open tennis
(Image credit: X @USOpen)
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After finishing 12th at the Tour Championship, which concluded this season’s FedEx Playoffs, Rory McIlroy has a golf-free week, and he has taken advantage of the break to watch some tennis at the US Open in New York.

The four-time Major winner was spotted at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday, where he took in the semi-final contest between US players Francis Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz.

McIlroy certainly picked a good match to attend, too, as the pair delivered a thriller before Fritz eventually triumphed in five sets to make it to his first Grand Slam final, where he will play World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

It’s not the first time McIlroy has headed to New York to decompress after the intensity of a tournament. Following golf’s US Open, where McIlroy lost in heartbreaking fashion to Bryson DeChambeau, he revealed he had wandered around the city in the days afterwards.

At the time, he said. “I went to Manhattan, which was nice.It was nice to sort of blend into the city a little bit. I walked around. I walked the High Line a couple of times. I made a few phone calls. I sort of was alone with my thoughts for a couple of days, which was good.”

There is still plenty of golf ahead for the 35-year-old this year, including an appearance at the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, later this month.

However, following his appearance at East Lake last week, he admitted he had “hit a bit of a wall” with a packed schedule throughout 2024 and revealed he planned to scale that back next year.

Rory McIlroy takes a tee shot during the Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy played in the Tour Championship at East Lake a week ago

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite that, later in the week, it was reported that he had committed to even more golf in the form of a TV match set for mid-December, in which he and fellow PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler would face DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

While all that is to come, it probably came as some relief to McIlroy to be the observer in a high-stakes battle this week rather than in the thick of the action.

McIlroy isn't the only high-profile golf figure who has been taking in the tennis. Trevor Immelman, who is a leader analyst on CBS Sports’ golf broadcast team, was at the same match as McIlroy.

Earlier in the US Open, World No.1 Nelly Korda cheered on brother Seb during his second-round match, although he lost in straight sets to Tomas Machac.

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Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.