Grand Central hosts the seventeenth annual Tournament of Champions in specially designed court in Vanderbilt Hall
Grand Central Terminal, Vanderbilt Hall
42nd St. at Vanderbilt Ave.
January 17-24, $8-$50 1st round, $105-$400 finals
718-569-0594
www.tocsquash.com
www.grandcentralterminal.com
Billed as the “World’s Largest Squash Spectator Event,” the Tournament of Champions returns to Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall this week, kicking off eight days of squash matches and other related special events held in a specially installed ten-ton, four-walled glass court where you can either buy tickets for one of the coveted five hundred seats or just watch in a standing-room area for free. Things get under way January 16 with the free Red Bull Karim Darwish Challenge, in which the number-six-ranked squasher takes on eleven local players, from former college captains to a sixth-grade girl, in ten-minute back-to-back-to-back matches. The tournament itself runs from January 17 to 24, featuring such men as #2 Gregory Gaultier, #3 Nick Matthew, #4 Mohamed Elshorbagy, and #5 James Willstrop (top-ranked Ramy Ashour, who won last year and in 2008 and 2011, had to withdraw due to injury) and such women as #1 Nicol David, #2 Laura Massaro, #3 Raneem El Welily, and #4 Alison Waters. From January 17 to 19, you can also check out the Grand Open, a battle of amateurs. On January 19, Kids & Family Day consists of two sessions in which children can get autographs and free posters and maybe even play against a pro. And on January 24, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City hosts the ToC Pong Challenge, with Ping-Pong pairs fighting it out for fifteen minutes on a table tennis table in the all-glass court. The cheap seats go quickly — ticket prices start at $8 for the early rounds and reach $400 for the finals — so get yours now.