In the player section of US Open's Arthur Ashe Stadium, past the information desk and the stringing area, there's a small room with light green and lavender walls emblazoned with clouds and butterflies. It's the Kids' Court nursery. Most players won't enter the roughly 800-square-foot room, but for the 25 or so who will use it this year, it's invaluable.
"It serves a very important function," says Whitney Kraft, director of player operations. "As the average age of players has ticked up a little bit, more and more touring pros are having children. And we're happy to provide this service."
The US Open players' guide says this: "Located behind the Wilson Racquet Stringing area, the Kids' Court nursery/crèche will be open Monday, August 29, through Saturday, September 10, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and Sunday, September 11, from 10:00 am until the conclusion of the matches to accommodate the children of main draw and Champions Invitational players only. Kids' Court is able to accommodate a maximum of 15 children at a time, ages six months to five years, on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to space limitations, Kids' Court is unable to accommodate the children of coaches, trainers/physios, agents or any other player guests."
The facility's supervisor says the caregivers look after more children of ATP players than WTA players.
That's not surprising. Consider the singles draws: The women's included two mothers, Kateryna Bondarenko and Evgeniya Rodina. The men's included 24 fathers, including the top two seeds, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
While it's not allowed to list players who use this facility, tennis fans would be familiar with quite a few names.
All four majors offer this type of facility. The US Open's contains several cribs and, this year, a Peppa Pig drawing on a big chalkboard. While a framed Babar Au Tennis poster hangs on the wall, the nursery looks mostly like many other daycare facilities. The room holds a little desk with little chairs, beanbags and puppets, small posters of boats and airplanes and dump trucks.
The nursery doesn't have set programs and schedules given kids' age disparity and parents' unpredictable schedules. (No one who's seen an order of play will be surprised.)
Says Kraft, "What I love is that they're not teeing up movies. It's all interactive and engagement."
One player who took advantage of the nursery is Bondarenko, who was the last mother left in the singles draw when she lost in the third round Friday. This type of facility is helpful because she always travels with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, Karina. (Bondarenko once left Karina in Ukraine with grandparents for two weeks. Afterward Karina implored, "Don't leave me again -- not even to buy gifts for me.") Bondarenko's daughter sometimes plays in the nursery with Rodina's daughter, Anna.
The nursery is staffed by three caregivers. The supervisor is an experienced, full-time nanny who's worked there for more than a decade. Outside the tournament one woman works with autistic children, and the third has worked with children as a nanny, in a domestic violence shelter and as an artist. (She does art projects with the kids.)
There's no fee to use the facility. The first-time players can use the nursery they complete a form indicating a child's allergies and such. They sign every time they drop off and pick up a child.
The supervisor provided this and other information as a former Grand Slam champion's son slept in a stroller next to her. She noted his mother would be thrilled to find out he slept for two hours straight.
Yen-Hsun Lu, who lost in the first round this year, has a son just under 2. Lu brought him to a tournament only once but has seen the nursery here and says it's one reason he'd consider bringing his son to the US Open and other Slams in the future.
"Kids can play with other kids," Lu says. "For sure they are more happy and more interested. I think it's a great setup. From a parent's side it's great. ... It's a good opportunity to bring them to the big tournaments."
Asked for tips for tennis tour moms, Bondarenko offered a few: Spend a lot of time with your child outside of practice and matches. Skip the gym when possible and do stretching and other workouts in the hotel room with your child. Her first tip, though, was this: "Have somebody to take care of your child while you practice or while you play."
Something every working parent understands -- and a reason for the nursery.
Not everyone uses the facility, though.
Like Marcos Baghdatis, who'll play 10th-seeded Gael Monfils in the fourth round Sunday. He has two young daughters, and his family hasn't used the nursery here.
Why?
He says, with a smile and honesty, "You should ask my wife."