From the US Open to Ground Zero: My 9/11 Story

From the roar of the US Open to the silence of a city in shock

Though living in Orlando, Florida at the time, I had been in New York for five weeks, working at the US Open Tennis Championships in Queens at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. For several years, I’d partnered with the merchandising company that sold official gear during the Open. That year, I managed the Octagon — the largest retail store on the grounds — which, for two weeks, averaged well over $120,000 in daily sales.

The tournament ended on Sunday, September 9. Monday was our traditional half‑price sale, a frenzied day that emptied shelves. By Tuesday, September 11, we were breaking down displays, counting inventory, and packing up. It was the first day in two weeks we weren’t in our navy polos and khaki shorts. The adrenaline of the finals weekend had faded, and I was dragging. Venus Williams had defeated her sister Serena in the Women’s Final; Lleyton Hewitt had upset Pete Sampras in the Men’s. They were long gone. We were left to clean up.

I was walking from the Octagon to our offices when our general manager, Terry, told me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We went into his office and turned on the television. At first, there was no footage — only an eyewitness describing a…