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.”
