There was a blank space for a performer at the 2003 U.S. Open and entertainment producer Michael Fiur failed to fill it with Taylor Swift’s name.
Reflecting on the pop superstar’s history at the grand slam — where she performed as a preteen in the early 2000s and returned this month with boyfriend Travis Kelce — Fiur revealed on a recent episode of tennis great Andy Roddick’s “Served” podcast how he passed on a Swift performance, calling it the “worst decision I ever made.”
“So in 2002, a guy named Merv Heller was president of the USTA and he said, a friend of mine, Scott Swift, is a lawyer and his 12-year-old daughter sings and plays the guitar, and would you let her come and be one of your people that sings the national anthem before the matches at night, and so, we were like sure,” said Fiur, who has been part of the U.S. Open’s festivities for more than two decades.
“… And then comes the worst decision I ever made. A year later, her father asked us would we put her on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, and we said, you know, she’s just taking off, she’s really country, we don’t think that will play in New York.”
When Roddick, the U.S. Open winner in 2003, replied, “You understand this is going to be public, right?” Fiur doubled down on his misstep.
“Worst decision I ever made,” he said.
Since performing at Arthur Ashe Stadium more than 20 years ago, Swift’s career and fame have skyrocketed into a different stratosphere.
A 14-time Grammy winner and billionaire, the 34-year-old superstar released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” earlier this year. She will also wrap up her blockbuster Eras Tour in December.
Swift is currently on hiatus from performances and is making the most of her downtime with Kelce, 34.
The couple — whose high-profile romance has dominated headlines ever since they went public last year — attended the men’s final of the U.S. Open between American Taylor Fritz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Sept. 8.
Swift and Kelce mingled in a box with pals, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, as Sinner topped Fritz in straight sets to claim his first U.S. Open title.
Prior to the U.S. Open outing, Swift attended the Chiefs’ season opener in Kansas City on Sept. 5. The defending Super Bowl champs topped the Ravens, 27-20.
It remains to be seen if Swift will travel to Los Angeles for the Chiefs-Chargers matchup Sunday after missing Kansas City’s road victory in Atlanta last weekend.