Un Petit Déjeuner Privé - Rolex at the US Open

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                                                                                Writer: Yerelyn Cortez Hidalgo

Thursday, August 28, 2025

The morning began not with the roar of a stadium, but with the hush of refinement. High above Arthur Ashe, Rolex gathered a select circle of media for un petit déjeuner privé — an invitation-only breakfast marking the opening days of the US Open. It was not simply a prelude to competition, but a tableau where legacy, culture, and sport converged before the first serve.

From ten o’clock until just past eleven, the suite unfolded like a private salon. Cappuccinos steamed beside flutes of juice and sparkling water, while silver trays carried delicate pastries, bowls of jewel-bright fruit, and nourishing açaí and oats. Through floor-to-ceiling windows, Arthur Ashe stretched in quiet majesty below — the city’s most famous court reframed as backdrop. The scene felt less like breakfast and more like a ritual, rendered with the precision and poise that have long defined Rolex.

At the podium, voices of leadership lent the gathering depth beyond its polished trimmings. Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive of Professional Tennis since 2016 and US Open Tournament Director since 2020, spoke of the sport’s mission to expand access, nurture the next generation, and enshrine equality. She recalled last year’s experiment with Mixed Madness during Fan Week and the way it grew into a full stadium moment this year. Tiered pricing opened Arthur Ashe to thousands — twenty dollars on the promenade, fifty in loge, one hundred fifty courtside — creating an atmosphere alive with boys and girls watching men and women compete together. “We want tennis to be inclusive,” she noted, “and to celebrate equality. These tiered prices made it possible.”

Beside her, USTA Chairman and President Brian Vahaly cast the US Open not only as a tournament but as a global celebration, a place where New York’s energy becomes part of the game itself. “The best men, the best women — competing on the same stage, for equal prize money — that is exactly the story we want to tell about tennis,” he said, calling it one of the highlights of the three weeks.

Together, their words underscored Rolex’s presence not merely as a sponsor, but as custodian of excellence — a brand aligned with tradition, precision, and enduring legacy.

Though the courts below remained still, anticipation hung in the air. Conversations drifted with the quiet rhythm of expectancy — the calm before the crescendo. It was a gathering shaped not just by invitation, but by intention, a reminder that at the US Open, the spectacle begins long before the first ball is struck.

The morning revealed itself in a sequence of impressions: golden light cresting Arthur Ashe like a gilded prologue; the gentle rise of steam from a cappuccino resting beside Rolex silver; voices threading across the suite where sport and style intertwined; a table composed with restraint, every detail whispering elegance. In these moments, un petit déjeuner privé became more than a breakfast. It was a study in how heritage meets modernity, how culture and sport share a stage, and how Rolex continues to measure time not only in seconds, but in style.

For LUXXELIVING, the morning stood as an affirmation of our mantra: Where luxury, culture, and experience converge.