Spotlight on Nancy Moya
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we're excited to feature Nancy Moya, a valued member of our community and part of the USTA NorCal Marketing Committee. Originally from Texas, Moya earned degrees from New Mexico State University and the University of Texas at El Paso. With 15 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism, she’s worked with well-known outlets like Univision, The Associated Press, El Diario de El Paso, Mexico’s Norteamérica and Mundo Ejecutivo, Germany’s Deutsche Welle and the Spanish-language El Ibérico of London, among others.
Moya is fluent in English, Spanish, German, and French, and her skills have made a big impact in Latino newsrooms. Recently, she attended the US Open for the first time and shared her experience at this major tennis event from her lens as a journalist.
Nancy Moya:
More than 1 million people witnessed the power of tennis live during the 2024 US Open for the first time and I was one of them.
According to the New York Times, this represented a 37% increase from 2023 and the tournament concluded over the weekend, with Italian Jannik Sinner winning the men’s singles and Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus coming out as the victor in the women’s singles.
This tournament, which is the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987, has been one of the greatest experiences I ever had as a “fan.”
This unique experience became a reality thanks to the USTA NorCal that offers its staff and volunteers like me, the opportunity to participate in a drawing to receive free tickets and experience the best tennis the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has to offer.
I have attended several tennis tournaments from the WTA and ATP for the last 10 years as a journalist and sometimes, we “media people” do not get the chance to experience everything that each tournament offers to its spectators.
A few weeks ago, I was able to be relaxed without worrying about any deadline at the Arthur Ashe Stadium seeing Australian qualifier Li Tu, 28, against none other than former champion and former No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
This luck of the draw puts Tu in a position to face his first Top 50 opponent, one who already has two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic silver medal to his name so far this season.
Tu went viral on social during that week, earning love from tennis “aficionados” despite his loss to third-seeded Alcaraz in the first round.
The 2024 edition was the first to feature a seven-day US Open Fan Week, which was attended by over 219,000 fans, including the Gonzalez Kids, who became famous last year when they interviewed Novak Djokovic during the ATP Finals.
The interview began with light-hearted topics, including Djokovic’s fond childhood memory of receiving a toy car as a gift from Santa Claus. The conversation then took a playful turn when Camila and Matias asked Djokovic about his kids’ candy intake, to which the 24-time major champion shared a humorous insight into their clever hiding techniques.
The interaction further included Oliver, Goran Ivanisevic’s son, who enthusiastically endorsed the idea of the match in Mexico, expressing his love for swimming.
Since then, the @losgonzalezdetour Instagram account has gained popularity for documenting the life of their dad Santiago Gonzalez, a Mexican doubles specialist. They have also interviewed Rafael Nadal this year during the Roma Open and most of the tennis pros of the New Generation in other ATP tournaments.
I had the opportunity to interact with them the day I attended the US Open tournament and we talked about all the experiences they have had since they launched this site a year ago.
“We like the US Open because we love the Big Apple and its giant skyscrapers…plus Kid’s Day was awesome…kids had to chance to have their face painted with many colors”, said Camila.
Last Sunday, I also had the opportunity to talk to Jack Nielson, Officials Recruiter and Event Coordinator of the USTA NorCal chapter, who also attended the US Open Men’s and Women’s semifinals.
“It was a 48-hour trip, and it was just amazing to see Jessica Pegula in person playing the way she did to reach the finals…I also had the chance to visit some parts of the city…an unforgettable experience”, said Nielson during the US Open Watch Party organized by the USTA NorCal held at Calicraft Brewing Company in Walnut Creek.
According to the US Open official’s website, America's Grand Slam welcomed a record number of fans to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2024, surpassing the seven-figure mark for the first time.
A total of 1,048,669 fans came to the tournament over its full three weeks: an 8% increase over 2023. Attendance for the two weeks of the main draw reached a new high mark of 832,640.
Let’s see what the numbers show next year!
Related Articles
Sign up for our Newsletter
Download the USTA App
