White House confirms Trump’s attendance at US Open final on Sunday

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will attend the men’s final of the US Open tennis championship in New York on Sunday, a White House official said, marking the latest in a series of visits to major sporting events.

Trump’s visit, confirmed to AFP on Friday by an official on condition of anonymity, comes after his attendance at the NFL’s Super Bowl in February and the FIFA Club World Cup championship final in July.

The line-up for the match is being decided on Friday, with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic facing Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner up against Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the semi-finals.

It will mark New York-born billionaire Trump’s first appearance at Flushing Meadows since 2015 -- when the then-presidential candidate and wife Melania were booed on arrival by the crowd.

The last sitting president to attend the tournament -- and the first in history to come to the US Open -- was Democrat Bill Clinton, who watched the women’s final in 2000.

Trump was there too and had a cordial meeting with Clinton. Pictures from the encounter at the time show the pair smiling, with Clinton’s arm around Melania’s waist.

Trump would go on to develop a bitter enmity with Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, his defeated Democratic rival in the 2016 US presidential election.

During his second term, Trump has attended a series of glitzy sporting events.

He was booed again at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey, but had a warmer reception at the Super Bowl and several Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.

Trump says he also plans to attend the first day of golf’s Ryder Cup later this month.

Meanwhile, he is also hailing the 2026 World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as what he claims is a "Golden Age of America" ushered in by his presidency.