00:00 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
00:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:06 - All these eyes on you.
00:12 Roar of the crowd.
00:15 The players, the fans, the officials.
00:18 It weighs on you.
00:27 But then once you start getting into it, once you start to work,
00:30 it's really like any other court.
00:33 But it isn't.
00:35 It's Arthur Ashe.
00:36 You make it to this court, and there's a reason for that.
00:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:48 - Just run across.
01:02 Just run across.
01:03 - All right, row, row, row.
01:08 - On, and the next one.
01:10 - All right, row, row.
01:13 - Stay with it.
01:14 Just come across.
01:16 Roll him, roll him.
01:18 - Wait for it to hit the net.
01:20 Wait for it to hit the net.
01:22 - Roll.
01:23 - Out of.
01:25 - Yeah, keep going.
01:26 Keep going.
01:27 And let's rotate.
01:28 - All right, ready?
01:29 Go.
01:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:33 - One, two.
01:39 - You can switch.
01:40 Try not to wait.
01:41 Now I'm going to go to the tee.
01:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:46 - Thank you.
01:49 Thank you.
01:54 - You got six over there?
01:55 - One out.
01:58 - All right, guys.
02:03 Everyone's hitting a ball through tryouts.
02:06 - The ball crew are the ones on court helping the players
02:10 transition through the match.
02:12 This year we had 850 people apply.
02:15 And then we invited 500 to the tryouts.
02:18 So that's where we get to see them out on court.
02:21 And then from there, we'll do all the evaluations together
02:24 and see where they sit.
02:26 And then we'll make our selections.
02:28 - All right, two in the middle.
02:31 Two at each corner.
02:32 Not up here.
02:34 Not down here.
02:35 Not here.
02:36 Shoulder up.
02:37 Showing both balls.
02:39 One bounce.
02:41 It's in the wrist.
02:42 Get this knee down.
02:44 Release low.
02:45 Then roll.
02:46 But the next one is like a step, step, and then another roll.
02:49 - Wait for the ball to hit the net.
02:52 - No backpedaling, right?
02:55 Gotta take it-- let's take it a little serious, all right?
02:57 Let's go.
02:58 - Nice.
02:58 78, 213.
03:05 Roll.
03:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:10 - It's my first time trying out to be a ball person.
03:12 So I hope I get it.
03:13 That's the best seat in the house,
03:15 obviously, right on court.
03:17 You're basically playing with them.
03:20 - It's a totally different world from watching it on television.
03:22 The ball just flies off the racket.
03:24 So actually getting to be on the court,
03:27 that would be a dream come true for me.
03:29 - So coming here, I was really nervous.
03:33 Because I didn't know if other people had done this before.
03:36 They played tennis, so they're more familiar with it.
03:38 But I know that they have to hire a lot of people.
03:41 So I feel like since there's more spots,
03:43 I might have a chance of getting in.
03:47 - I've wanted to do this for many years.
03:49 And it just kind of never worked out.
03:51 I'm 34 years old.
03:52 I feel like life's going to--
03:54 life's going to get going faster.
03:56 And you just never know when you'll
03:58 have another chance to do it.
04:01 - You know what I think is very unique about this program
04:04 is the fact that they opened up to people of all ages.
04:07 I feel like that really embodies inclusiveness.
04:11 Even if you're 60, you have that agility.
04:13 You have that endurance.
04:15 Why can't you be a ball person?
04:18 - Guys, again, we've been watching
04:20 a lot of very casual running and strolling across the net.
04:25 Like, again, do run if you know already
04:29 after you see them running.
04:30 - You and I know it.
04:32 Five minutes.
04:34 - As the ball person crew, you spend a lot of time
04:36 together over three weeks.
04:37 And you and Sal and I have known each other for a long time.
04:40 We've experienced a lot of the same experiences on court.
04:43 We've worked together on court.
04:45 - Here, you see this orange theory?
04:47 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:47 - I joined it last year.
04:49 - Yeah.
04:49 - You know, these are lifelong friends
04:51 that we've gotten to know over the years.
04:53 So yeah, it's-- you know, we take it seriously.
04:55 But it's a fun job.
04:57 Try and inspire them by telling them, hey,
04:59 we were all once young ball people too.
05:03 Don't be afraid.
05:04 Like, we're here to help each other out.
05:07 - At the end of the day, you're part of a team
05:09 that so few people in the world get to experience.
05:13 Get down low.
05:14 Hey, instead of tossing like this, no bounces.
05:17 You're all right.
05:18 It's all right.
05:18 - One and two.
05:23 Go.
05:25 - Sometimes it's not as easy as it looks to roll and catch
05:28 a ball.
05:29 - Stay with it.
05:30 - Again, let it roll into your fingers.
05:31 Don't try and trap it.
05:33 - Take a few steps up towards the player.
05:35 No jogging.
05:35 No jogging.
05:36 No jogging.
05:37 - Tie your shoes.
05:39 - We're going to get you guys some real shoes.
05:41 - Yeah.
05:42 - Oh.
05:45 - If you didn't like that, we'll say, try and catch
05:46 the ball like this.
05:47 - 2-5-9.
05:48 That's what I was getting at.
05:49 He's huffing and puffing.
05:50 - Yeah, I think he's just overall confused,
05:53 concentration-wise.
05:54 I'd probably score that, but low.
05:56 - Definitely a better--
05:57 - Better turnout than yesterday.
05:59 - Well, turnout in terms of--
06:01 - Skill.
06:01 - --crawlability.
06:02 - Skill set.
06:03 And wanting to be here.
06:04 Some of those people yesterday, it was like someone
06:06 just dropped them off.
06:07 - Yeah.
06:09 - You guys want to try out?
06:10 Let's go.
06:12 - I just need you out of the house for about 45 minutes
06:15 to an hour.
06:16 - All right, you're on to jog after you get the ball.
06:20 - How do you get to be a ball person?
06:22 You try out.
06:24 I tried out and was asked to join the team in '78, '79,
06:28 and '80.
06:30 My wife, she said, hey, Andrew, I just got an email saying
06:35 they're looking for ball people this year.
06:37 I think you should try out.
06:38 So here I am.
06:41 The evaluators are very fair.
06:43 The evaluators look for you to have fun.
06:47 But you have to be athletic to be a ball person.
06:50 There's no two ways about it.
06:52 You cannot come out here expecting anything less.
06:56 I've got this finger crossed.
06:58 You know what they say about crossing too many, right?
07:00 So I'm pretty confident, but you're never too confident.
07:04 There's a lot of good people here.
07:06 So I'm always hoping.
07:07 - I think it went pretty well.
07:13 - It's pretty competitive.
07:14 So you never know.
07:17 - I think probably not.
07:19 I think I will probably not make the team.
07:22 - I hope so.
07:23 I'm not sure.
07:24 Like, I don't know what the other groups before me
07:26 or after me are going to be like.
07:28 - You know, it's always tough competing with younger kids.
07:30 - It is very, very intense.
07:32 It is not what I expected.
07:33 - When I was throwing the ball, I kind of
07:34 threw it over the net a few times.
07:35 - I think I can do it.
07:37 I think I will make the team.
07:38 - I hope I make the team.
07:39 - I do think I'm going to make the team.
07:40 I'm very confident.
07:41 - I feel confident.
07:42 - OK, so I'm about to open my email from the ball crew
07:53 tryouts to see if I got the job.
07:57 So let's see, guys.
07:59 Dear Catherine, thank you for attending the 2022 US Open Ball
08:03 Crew tryouts.
08:05 After an overwhelming attendance at this year's tryouts,
08:08 we regret to inform you--
08:10 - You have not been selected.
08:12 Oh, that's OK.
08:14 - Congratulations.
08:15 We would like to invite you to be in the 2022 ball crew.
08:19 There it is.
08:20 Wow.
08:21 - We regret to inform you that you have not
08:23 been selected for this year's ball crew team.
08:25 [SCREAMING]
08:27 - I'm so happy to have been given this opportunity.
08:30 - This is literally a dream come true.
08:34 - Obviously a disappointing email.
08:37 But you know, there's always next year.
08:40 - Oh, well, at least I got this sweet shirt that
08:42 says ball crew tryouts on it.
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08:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:03 [APPLAUSE]
09:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:33 - I did not get chosen this year.
09:47 But I'm not giving up.
09:48 I'm going to come back next year and try again.
09:51 Everyone I look at down here is great.
09:54 They deserve the opportunity, just like I had,
09:57 because it's something they'll take with them
09:59 for the rest of their life.
10:00 And then they'll be coming back here when they're my age
10:03 and saying, hey, guess what?
10:04 I did this.
10:05 [APPLAUSE]
10:07 They're the unsung heroes, I think, for the tournament,
10:09 because nobody gives them a lot of acknowledgment.
10:13 You don't even hear a peep from them.
10:17 I haven't even seen them really walk in the grounds.
10:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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10:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:01 - Did you ever see 2001, A Space Oddity?
11:04 - Remind me.
11:05 I'm probably not.
11:06 - So at the center of the film is a computer game.
11:11 - You made it through ball of mine,
11:19 beginning of main draw.
11:20 You made it through the beginning of doubles.
11:22 Today started mixed doubles.
11:24 Those dead balls, we want to make sure we are sprinting to,
11:26 right?
11:27 We don't want to be jogging to those balls.
11:28 Treat it like every ball needs to be gotten.
11:31 Every ball is a loose ball that is yours.
11:33 Competition, can I get to it first?
11:35 Catching serves during warm-ups--
11:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:40 - A lot of people will say, yeah, I've watched tennis before.
11:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:46 But you'll probably watch tennis a little differently.
11:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:52 [APPLAUSE]
11:56 - My wife doesn't like watching tennis with me,
11:59 because I look at the ball people,
12:02 look at their weather position sometimes, or a lot of times.
12:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:09 If someone would say that anybody can do the job,
12:17 I'd say yes and no.
12:19 But you can't just step on the court thinking
12:23 that you know what to do.
12:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:27 You magically appear and then magically disappear.
12:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:33 Focus shouldn't really be on us.
12:36 But for that short amount of time,
12:41 everyone's really waiting for you.
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