For this year’s U.S. Open tennis preview, an imaginative cover illustration brings together a diverse assembly of animals to fill Arthur Ashe Stadium, merging the worlds of sport and nature in a playful tribute to the New York City setting. The artwork, featuring creatures ranging from raccoons enjoying cocktails to a Eurasian eagle-owl soaring amid the crowd, was created by freelance illustrator Zazie Weldgen and print sports designer Timothy Oliver.
The special section, appearing alongside coverage of the tennis tournament, showcases more than 170 animals native to New York State, an effort born from thorough research and a desire to reflect the local environment. Weldgen, originally from Rochester, New York, spent weeks consulting resources such as the New York City Parks Department, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to ensure ecological accuracy in the depiction of the creatures. She noted the abundance of biodiversity in the state, which supported the ambitious intent to fill the stadium with as many animals as possible.
This project marks the fifth U.S. Open preview for Oliver, who sought to capture the unique atmosphere of the Grand Slam event, often described as the loudest and most free-spirited of the major tennis tournaments. The inclusion of animals in the illustration aims to convey the unifying, joyous effect sports can have on a community, even amid a busy sports calendar that has featured the Winter Olympics, an NBA championship, and the FIFA World Cup.
Weldgen drew inspiration from her experience creating animal-themed murals and aimed to evoke a sense of delight and relatability, suggesting that many people find joy in animals over humans. The process was intensive, taking over three months to complete, and involved multiple iterations and adjustments based on feedback from the sports editorial team. For instance, a squirrel was added in the role of a ball boy, reflecting a careful effort to integrate tennis-specific details into the scene despite the illustrator’s admission of limited tennis knowledge.
After completing detailed sketches on tracing paper, Weldgen transitioned to the final version using a combination of watercolor, acrylic paint, and gel pen highlights. She also used digital tools like Photoshop to study lighting and color, striving to capture the feeling of dawn inside the iconic stadium. The finished piece includes both realistic and mythological elements, such as “William the Hippo,” a blue mascot associated with the Metropolitan Museum, and the so-called “ghost dog” of Prospect Park.
The illustration invites viewers to find a moment of levity and connection amid daily news challenges, emphasizing that the spirit of sport and nature can be embraced by all. The full list of represented animals accompanies the feature, providing an encyclopedic complement to the vibrant scene where, alongside human spectators, pigeons serve on the court and eastern cottontail rabbits sit in the stands.