The U.S. Open employs over 7,000 people during the three-week event. One of these people is Rick Baiman, a lifelong tennis fan who has spent his entire life in Nassau County.
Baiman grew up in Jericho and currently lives in Great Neck. He has worked at the U.S. Open in the guest services department for the last seven years and said he enjoys the atmosphere of the tournament.
“We are basically a source of information for them but also an opportunity for them to chat with us,” he said. “It’s easy to socialize with all these people.”
Baiman said he has had the same role since he began working the event: helping people find their seats and their way around the stadium.
“It’s a great time of year and it can be a lot of fun,” he said. “It could be stressful, but the fun overrides the stress.”
This year, Baiman said he is only able to work two of the three weeks of the Open, as he also works at Total Wine in Westbury.
“Customer service is sort of like second nature,” he said.
Baiman has played tennis his whole life. Growing up, he would attend the Open as often as possible. He said he even still has his high school racket.
“Just the thrill of international tennis players that people read about and see on TV now, you can see them in person,” Baiman said. “That’s what encouraged me when the opportunity presented itself to work for the U.S. Open. I jumped at it.”
Baiman said that his goal in life is to enjoy what he does, and he attributes this to the tennis tournament.
“When you wake up in the morning and you say, ‘I don’t really wanna go to work,’ that’s when you need to find a new job, and I really look forward to the weeks of the Open at the end of the summer,” he said. “The end of the summer can be somewhat depressing, but the Open sort of brightens it up and makes it a lot more palatable.”
The U.S. Open will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 7.
