Miami Open: The Official Tournament Guide
- CHARLIE RAYAt the 2025 Miami Open, Czech player Jiri Lehecka went down early in the tournament to veteran Gaël Monfils. In what was either a moment of frustration, deflection, or post-match clarity, he took to Instagram to call the Miami Open the Parking Lot Masters.
While certainly a fresh take on the tournament’s name, this viewpoint is not held solely by Jiri. The tournament is somewhat notorious now for feeling like a construction site -- not just in that its stadiums and bleachers feel like they might have been put up by a high school tech theatre crew, but in the players’ waiting areas being literal trailers with tepid coolers full of warm bottled water, as referenced a year earlier by Casper Ruud.
When you get Casper Ruud angry, that means several lines have been crossed.
Even with all of that player disdain, the Miami Open ranks consistently at the top of our favorite tournaments -- mostly for all the wrong, silliest reasons. Learn why we can’t stay away from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens each March.
Some Context
Paramount to understanding tennis’s complex relationship with the Miami Open is understanding what the tournament used to be in the not-so distant past. In 2019, the tournament moved to Hard Rock Stadium (home of the Marlins), leaving behind the idyllic Crandon Park Tennis Center on Key Biscayne. While there were many practical and urgently necessary reasons for parting ways with Crandon Park (the owners of the venue refused to front the money to build a private dining area for players, among many others), most tennis fans were heartbroken to leave behind the tropical, secluded tennis paradise.
The Miami Open is also the second in a duo of tournaments referred to as The Sunshine Double, with the first being Indian Wells in Palm Desert, CA. For many years, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and Crandon Park were beacons of American Tennis nostalgia and charm -- many felt that the rhythm and vibe of the first American swing was interrupted by taking Miami in a newer, more modern direction. On top of everything, with Indian Wells being widely regarded as the Fifth Slam, expectations for the new Miami Open venue were… well, Slam-level.
If expectations were overdelivery on charm, recapturing that tropical feeling, and living up to Slam expectations, then the new Miami Open went 0 for 3 and might even deserve some negative marks. What resulted is a major tennis tournament retrofitted into a football stadium and its accompanying parking lots. Outside of the four edges of the bright blue HarTru courts, there’s really not much else indicating that you’re at a tennis tournament.
With all of that said, the Miami Open is fun. Like, very, very fun. To experience misery and disdain at the Miami Open is simply a skill issue. See below.
Planning Your Trip
The first ingredient of any good Miami Open excursion is a bona-fide trip to Miami. Caroline and I had the pleasure of living in Miami for a period during our mid-20s and found it to be one of the most charming, enriching cities we’ve ever been to. Sure, you can spend your evenings at E11VEN or Space, but there is so much more to offer.
As you’re planning this trip to Miami, we’d encourage you to separate your tennis days from your other activities rather deliberately. The Miami Open is held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL -- which sounds just down the street, but can be very pesky to reach, especially during times of high traffic (which the Miami Open nearly always spawns, see below). There is, naturally, little to do in Miami Gardens.
Where to Stay
If it’s your first time in Miami, it’ll be tough to not want to stay on the beach. Luckily, Caroline and I actually maintain that staying on Miami Beach is perfectly acceptable for the Miami Open. There are a number of easy routes off the island, particularly the farther north you stay. Check out the string of hotels in mid-beach -- or push further north to Surfside to get closer to the tennis.
Our best recommendation is actually to stay on the mainland, just for increased proximity to Miami Gardens when you need it. We like Midtown, Edgewater, MiMo, or the Design District for something like this. In these neighborhoods, you may have better luck with AirBnBs instead of hotels. In the first two neighborhoods, expect high-rises with water views and lots of walkable necessities; in the latter, expect homes and streets densely-lined with trees.
A more extreme version would be to post up in Aventura, which would be highly convenient for tennis but might keep you away from much of what makes Miami great.
An aside: this is making us feel like we should release our general Miami recommendations, tennis notwithstanding. Should we? Anyway…
METHOD #1 TO ENJOY THE MIAMI OPEN: Dedicate tennis days and non-tennis days -- and on non-tennis days, stay far, far away from Miami Gardens. Enjoy Miami, dive into what it has to offer, and don’t lodge yourself too far south, or the next section will make you rip your hair out.
Getting There
Getting to Hard Rock Stadium from anywhere that anyone would ever want to be in Miami is awful. Point blank. Geographically, the stadium isn’t too far from Miami, but the highway bridges that pour cars out in front of the stadium are not designed with large events in mind, and traffic/backups often begin miles away on highway bridges. It can be excruciating to get there.
To begin, we would actually recommend that you make every effort to not drive. We’ve fallen for this more than once. It seems easy enough upon arrival, but the parking lots upon departure are consistently awful, occasionally taking more than an hour to leave. Skip it.
What we do recommend is Ubering. And what we recommend even further is Ubering to the nearby Walmart or Home Depot and building in an extra 20m to walk over to the stadium. This route should also force your driver to come from the north, which should help alleviate some traffic pressure on your ride. The Walmart and Home Depot are just across the street from the venue, but you do have to make your way to a sky bridge to get across the street. This is a small price to pay for a more efficient drive and less time in traffic.
METHOD #2 TO ENJOY THE MIAMI OPEN: Uber, and set your location to a nearby business, like a Walmart or Home Depot. Finish by walking over and avoid several headaches at once.
Stadiums and Tickets
The Layout
Ok, ok… we’ve been circling around a big reveal here that we can’t bury much longer. The center court: is just a football stadium. That’s right.
If you buy “stadium” tickets, you’ll walk in the grounds to find that you are walking the same path that a Marlins fan might take, through the windy ramps and by the NFL-esque concessions. When you arrive at your seats, you’ll find that the court has just been built on the 50-yard line and shoved to the side. About 75% of the stadium seating has been roped off, with a few sections being used for the “long side” of the court seating. The other three sides are comprised of rickety bleachers.
It’s surreal, and not in an impressive way. More in a “this is a 1000 tournament?” way.
If you find yourself around the outer courts, you will notice that sometimes you’re stepping over asphalt painted for F1 races or parking spots for football fans. The outer courts themselves do have some a few highlights -- like Grandstand’s ability to put you right in front of the players, or the downright party atmosphere created by Butch Buchholz and its overlooking bars. All in all, though, the courts are disappointing.
What Tickets Should I Get?
If you’ve read our guides before, you’ll know that our recommendation is almost always to go early and buy a main court ticket, so that you can choose to find the grittier matches on the outer courts vs. the top-ranked vs. bottom seed blowouts on the center courts. During the tournament, you might find that you cash in one or two matches in your dedicated seats and spend the rest of the time bopping from court to court.
For Miami, there is a very important decision to make when buying Stadium tickets. If you buy alongside the actual permanent stadium seating, the seats will be comfortable -- and you can pretty affordably get access to some lounge areas which can be great for beating the heat. However, even at the front of these sections, you’ll feel horribly removed from the players. Because of the orientation of the stadium, you’re simply just far away. It can be upsetting, especially if you’re cashing in your Stadium ticket to see a top player you’ve never seen before.
On the flip, if you buy in any of the bleacher sections, you’ll feel like you’re in -- well, bleachers. These seats are also incredibly exposed to sun, meaning that day sessions can be tricky. But the proximity issue is not prevalent here, and it feels a bit more like a valid Stadium court.
Thus, our third tip is born:
METHOD #3 TO ENJOY THE MIAMI OPEN: Go twice: one day session and one evening session. For the day session, buy the stadium-side seats and get club access. For the night session, buy the bleacher seats to get all of the vibe of the bleachers without the heat. When you attend, keep an eye on scores and don’t be afraid to ditch your club access, day-session seats for grittier, more balanced matches on the outer court. Use the club for air conditioning and food. For the evening bleacher session, trust that the matches will be better programmed -- and leave for an outer court if not!
A note: we are quite far into the guide and have yet to share anything net-positive. You might be wondering: why do these fools like this tournament so much? Here is where things start to change.
The Experience
Once you accept that the Miami Open is a tennis tournament dropped into the parking lot of an NFL stadium, everything starts to make more sense. Strangely, it starts to get very fun.
Part of this comes from the tournament trying very hard to feel like a Slam. Compared with most 1000-level events, the brand presence is bigger, louder, and more elaborate. Sponsors build real installations. Several retail spaces feel closer to temporary flagship stores than merch stands.
The Lacoste store is a great example. This is, by far, the most intense and complete brand apparel popup of any tournament. It beats the Indian Wells Lululemon popup, and really any store on any grounds. New pieces, entire player kits from their full roster… very comprehensive. Very enticing. Very tempting to spend money!
If you approach the grounds expecting the charm of a traditional tennis facility, you’ll be disappointed. Treat it more like a tennis carnival with matches happening in the middle and it clicks immediately.
Food and Drink
The food and drink situation at the Miami Open is excellent.
As with many tournaments, Miami brings in local spots -- but they bring in local spots that are almost entirely inaccessible in Miami proper due to lines, hype, and buzz. The result is one of the easiest ways to sample several Miami favorites without spending your entire trip chasing reservations.
Miami Slice is the obvious headliner. The line is almost always long, but it moves quickly and the pizza absolutely justifies the wait. There are few better tournament lunches than grabbing a slice and walking over to an outer court for a tight third set -- and, trust, you will not get a slice if you try to go Downtown.
The bar situation is even better. Above Butch Buchholz court sits one of the best drinking setups on the grounds: an open-air bar overlooking the court that serves a frozen strawberry gin cocktail specifically engineered for South Florida heat -- we’re certain it’s the best frozen cocktail we’ve ever had. It’s very easy to lose an hour or two (and a cocktail or five) here.
This is one of the tournament’s real strengths. The Miami Open encourages lingering. Grab a drink, watch a set, wander to another court, repeat. It’s a looser rhythm than most tournaments, and it suits Miami perfectly.
The Crowds
Miami is South America’s gateway to US -- and often, much of the world across the Atlantic.
Fans travel in from all across South America -- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, etc. -- and the result is Olympic-level pride for South American players. Big points get real reactions, and the crowd is fully invested in every rally.
That passion, wonderfully, tends to come with pretty solid tennis etiquette. The ushers in the stadium are also some of the most militant we’ve seen, enforcing NO movement until changeovers, and monitoring distractions like a hawk. You get discipline and passion on every court -- truly the best of both worlds.
Yes, you’re still in Miami. There will always be a few people who wandered in from brunch in Wynwood, or someone filming a courtside outfit reveal during a changeover. But even those attendees tend to behave like very polite tennis fans.
Part of that is simply Miami culture. In Miami, the culture at large cares about appearances -- and at the Miami Open that includes looking like someone who understands tennis. People who may not know the difference between a kick serve and a slice still applauding thoughtfully after long rallies, nodding during changeovers, maybe dropping a quiet “great point.”
Cosplay!
The end result is a crowd that feels international, energetic, and genuinely engaged with the sport. You’ll hear Spanish and Portuguese all around you, see fans passionately supporting players ranked well outside the Top 20, and occasionally watch an outer-court upset turn into a small stadium celebration.
Final Verdict
The Miami Open should not work. It is a tennis tournament held in a football stadium's parking lot, accessible primarily via a Walmart, populated by players who have publicly compared it to a construction site. The courts are temporary. The player facilities are trailers. Casper Ruud was upset.
And yet.
If you follow the methods above (dedicate your days, Uber to the big box store, mix your sessions, and arrive with the right mindset), the Miami Open delivers something that most tournaments don't. It delivers a genuine scene. The food is great. The frozen cocktail above Butch Buchholz is transcendent. The crowd is loud and international and somehow both passionate and well-behaved. The Lacoste popup will empty your wallet in the best possible way.
The Miami Open is not the Fifth Slam. It is not Crandon Park. It will probably never fully escape the shadow of what it used to be or the weight of what it's supposed to become. But strip away those expectations, and what you have is one of the most entertaining, loosest, most alive tennis weeks of the year: a carnival with a scoreboard, held somewhere between South Beach and the NFL, full of people who are very happy to be there.
We'll keep going back. Every March. Every year.
Just don't drive.