US Open: Balancing Tradition and the New Content Economy
Lights. Camera. Quiet, please.
At the US Open in New York, tennis’ most basic courtesy is colliding head-on with the content economy. The result is a sport trying to decide how much noise it can tolerate before it stops being itself.
Tennis has always run on a set of unwritten rules. Players apologise for net cords. They call their own lines honestly, admit to double bounces and double-hits, and shake hands at the end no matter what’s just happened. In the stands, there’s a simpler code: don’t disturb the players during points.
This year, that last one is under strain.
Around 100 influencers and content creators have been granted accreditation in New York, roughly double last year’s number. Their arrival has brought a new audience and a new tension: how far can you push the “experience” before you start disrespecting the sport?
Coco Gauff, world number four and one of the faces of this new era, likes the idea in principle.
"I definitely think it's cool to have a new demographic and I definitely think it helps grow the sport," she said. But she drew a sharp line. "If you're being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn't show up in jeans. I think it's just follow the etiquette of the sport. That's all."
That etiquette was put under the spotlight during Naomi Osaka’s first-round match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
As Osaka served on the biggest court in tennis, a group in a hospitality suite turned on a portable ring light and began a photo shoot. The artificial glow cut through the night and straight into the umpire’s patience. Play stopped. The group were reprimanded.
The scene went viral. So did another clip from the same match: a group loudly filming themselves while points were being played, forcing the chair umpire to step in and tell them to stop.
When Osaka returned to Ashe on Thursday, the pattern continued.
"Today the umpire told everyone to be quiet more than I've ever heard an umpire tell a crowd to be quiet," she said. "I tell people I normally just focus on the match and the court, but there was a moment where there was people shouting and you could hear it quite clearly. I think it bothered my opponent, too."
Osaka didn’t rail against the idea of influencers. She questioned the way it is being handled.
"I think obviously if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport," she said. "I feel like it's common courtesy to read up on the sport, especially the etiquette.
"It could be a good thing for people to make the sport of tennis popular to their specific audience, but I think it has to be managed a lot better, especially in the situation like my first-round match.
"Overall, I think there are huge positives. You want people to continue to grow the sport. I just think it has to be in a way that everyone knows the rules and the etiquette."
Arthur Ashe is never a library. It is the biggest tennis stadium in the world, famous for its constant hum of conversation and movement. Some players feed off that energy. Others feel it fraying their focus.
Daniil Medvedev, the men’s seventh seed and a man who has both sparred with and serenaded this crowd in the past, sits firmly on the side of growth.
"I think the more we try to raise awareness about tennis, the better it is, the more popular the sport is," the Russian said. "The more the sport grows, the better it is. I trust USTA with what they are doing. I think [there is] a lot more upside than downside, so go for it."
American 11th seed Frances Tiafoe sees something else he loves: variety.
"I think the Open is great because you get all types of people that want to come and watch tennis," he said. "All different walks of life, different types of people, different type of occupations. Personally, I love that. I have no problem with anybody doing anything, coming to watch the tennis."
Not everyone is as relaxed.
World number three Jessica Pegula has watched the same clips as everyone else and doesn’t like what they say about where the line now sits.
"I can appreciate the influencers coming and showcasing the US Open experience," she said. "But I do think that it's tough when you see videos when they're taking pictures and using the selfie lights.
"People are down there trying to perform. It's their career and their job. It seems a bit disrespectful.
"I think it's become a little too much this year. I can appreciate one side of it, but I think when you have the other side literally interrupting matches, it gets a little tough."
The backdrop to all of this is a tournament that has deliberately opened its doors wider.
In 2024, the US Open introduced a policy of free fan movement, scrapping the old requirement to wait for changeovers before taking seats. A year later, the event stretched to 15 days. The week before the main singles draw became a branded ‘Fan Week’, built around a revamped mixed doubles competition and exhibition matches featuring stars past and present.
The message is clear: this is not just a tennis tournament, it is an entertainment destination.
Tournament chief executive Craig Tiley has spoken openly about the ambition. He wants what he calls “the tennis Disneyland”. That vision includes the so‑called “creator credential”, the very pass that has brought so many influencers into the grounds.
"We need to find ways of reaching new audiences, reaching people in a way that they connect with media today," Tiley said before the tournament. "The creation of the creator credential has been a key part of that because it's enabled us to talk to people in a way that they're listening. That's been a big focus."
Once Osaka’s first-round incident exploded online, the response came quickly. Messaging around the grounds has been ramped up, with screens reminding spectators to "refrain from any activity that could disrupt the game, including noise levels, flash photography and ring lights".
The USTA set out its position in a statement: it is "always striving to grow tennis in this country and bring new audiences into the sport".
"We want all of our fans and guests to have an incredible time when they attend, but we also need to ensure they do not interfere with the action and competition on the court," it said. "We are continually looking for ways to ensure fans in the stands know what is permitted and what is prohibited."
That is the tightrope now. Tennis wants the ring lights, the vlogs, the new demographics, the “Fan Week”, the sense that a day at the US Open is an event as much as a match. It also wants silence at 30‑all, second serve, under the lights on Ashe.
The question is no longer whether influencers belong at tennis. They are here. The question is whether the sport can teach them its oldest rule: when the umpire says “Quiet, please”, does anyone still listen?
