The biggest stars at the 2011 U.S. Open may not be named Federer, Nadal or Williams.
In fact, they might not even be alive.
Two Queens brothers who have dubbed themselves the "ghost doctors" say the U.S. Open grounds in Flushing Meadows are haunted by tennis icons such as Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.
Peter and Stew Kandel believe the legends roam the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to relive the good old days.
"Spirits go back to where they had fun," Peter Kandel said. "They go where the action is."
The Kandels, who are licensed New York City tour guides, went to the tennis center last week with the Daily News to search for specters. Toting meters that measure electromagnetic fields, they said they found a lot of energy by a hot dog stand inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.
A manager there said she believed the brothers.
"You never know where there's a spirit," she said.
Fans were more skeptical.
"I'm not thinking about dead people when I watch tennis," said Barbara Nyaseme, 26, of the upper West Side.
John McGrath, 63, of Rockaway, N.J., said he regularly comes to the Open but hasn't seen any ghosts yet.
"My eyes will be open more," he said. "I won't just be looking at women."
The Kandels said they think Ashe, the namesake of the primary Open stadium, is the most likely former star to revisit the grounds.
They also believe the venue is haunted by Gibson, the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title in 1956, and Don Budge, who completed the first-ever Grand Slam in 1938.
Neither Gibson nor Budge played at Flushing Meadows, but the Kandels said they detected high energy near plaques that honor the legends at the venue's Court of Champions.
"Spirits, they get attached to objects a lot of times," Pete Kandel said.
Six-time Open champion Chris Evert dismissed the findings.
"I don't believe in any of that," she said. "I'm not superstitious."
But USTA officials said they aren't surprised.
"It just goes to show you how popular the U.S. Open truly is," said USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier. "Once people come, they never leave."
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