‘Worst decision I ever made’: Veteran US Open producer Michael Fiur reveals his Taylor Swift snub

Tay Tay was simply another artist that was turned down for shows before the Swifties came along.

Taylor Swift was a pre-teen country singer who performed the national anthem at the US Open

before she rose to fame as a rich singer-songwriter and businessman.

She was summoned back the next year, this time to perform

“America the Beautiful” at the tender age of thirteen.

On this week’s episode of Served with Andy Roddick, experienced US Open

Entertainment producer Michael Fiur shared a harsh reality about her upcoming performance

in Flushing, which would have been her third consecutive year there. As an executive producer,

Fiur has produced 29 Super Bowls, five Super Bowl halftime shows, and 28 US Opens in a row.

and counting. But in retrospect, it’s hard to understand the professional choice he disclosed to Roddick.

“We said, ‘She’s really country; we don’t think that would play in New York,

‘ and I don’t share this publicly very often,” Fiur stated in response to her father’s request to place her

on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day. “Worst choice I’ve ever made.”

Roddick and Fiur concur that the Opening Night guest list—which includes Grammy-

winning performers Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston,

Rob Thomas, and others—speaks for itself over time, despite the fact that Swift attended AAKD

would have been legendary for Flushing Meadows.

“How in the world do you reserve Whitney Houston for Arthur Ashe Stadium’s opening night?

“Before fangirling over former US Open star Phil Collins, Roddick stated.

Fiur also verified reports that Justin Bieber’s first television appearance occurred in 2009.

at the US Open, when he was 14 years old and doing a player’s lounge interview with Will Ferrell.

Regarding Bieber, Fiur remarked, “It is pure gold.”

“When Justin returned for the first time last year, he was like,

‘Wow, this looks so different—bigger actually.'”

The two talk about how much the US Open has changed in the past few years,

particularly after Pride Night was introduced in 2019.

“The US Open was really proud to have created the first Open Pride event in 2019.

which was a conversation held during the first fan week,” Fiur said. “For a long time,

the US Open didn’t have a platform for diversity and inclusion beyond Arthur Ashe Kids Day

and Arthur’s name.” “Over the past few years, the diversity, equity, and inclusion department

has expanded to the point where it now ranks the Open Pride event as the main draw of the Open

and produces events for HBCUs, Latinos, and Asian Americans.”

“To see this now become part of the fabric of the Open, for me personally,

to have seen this growth and this change and the organization get behind it,

makes me very proud to be associated with an organization that has these beliefs and shares my beliefs.”

From the perspective of a player, Roddick continues,

it’s natural for him to recognize other groups of people and their cultures.

and he believes it’s about time that this be highlighted during a major event like the US Open.

“Exploring new places at such a young age and getting to know a million different people

is the gift of a lifetime in the tennis world,” he remarked. “I’m happy the US Open

is representing tennis because it was just so common for someone to be gay, black, or whatever else.

In the shadow of the sporting event, where better to truly commemorate these occasions?