Onlookers turned around in confusion. The match had to be interrupted, referee Paula Vieira Souza warned the troublemakers - now this moment can be remembered as the first time in the history of tennis that influencers were warned to behave appropriately in a stadium.
The scene quickly made the rounds on social media, with the majority of online users criticizing the behavior and the general tenor: Influencers are a plague! They would take away the cards from true tennis fans! They wouldn't be interested in the sport, just themselves! They would destroy the special tennis atmosphere! The excitement even went so far that professionals had to comment in press conferences. American top ten player Jessica Pegula said: "I find it difficult to see videos like this where people are taking photos and using selfie lights. People are trying to act down there, it's their profession, their job. It seems kind of disrespectful."
For those who feel the same way, there is bad news: they will have to get used to the new visitors who have suddenly been declared bad guys, at least at the US Open. Because no tournament in the world takes such a radical approach as the last of the four Grand Slam events of the season. Influencers? Bring it on, that's the course here.
Last year, the organizers tried something new and officially accredited around 50 influencers for the first time. Until now, traditional media from print, TV, radio and online had the right to report on tournaments through “media accreditation”. Now the US Open introduced “creator credentials”, i.e. proof that gives people who operate channels on the Internet, primarily market themselves and are grateful cooperation partners for companies due to their immense reach, the right to access the facility in Queens and the stadiums. This year the number of influencers doubled to 100. If you do a little searching on Instagram, you'll quickly find what you're looking for. Many influencers are suddenly posting diligently about the US Open, mostly with themselves in the picture.
“This will develop into the Disneyland of tennis,” assured US tennis boss Craig Tiley
Brendan McIntyre, head of communications and content at the US Open, made it clear that this was just the beginning of a development: “I fully expect this upward trend to continue in the coming years.” Because: “We have to find ways to open up new target groups and reach people where they interact with media today.” Youth reaches youth, he wanted to say. The rapidly increasing interest proves this strategy right: “We have recorded enormous growth.” The number of spectators is exploding, despite sometimes horrendous ticket prices like in New York, where ground tickets, which don't even get you into Arthur Ashe Stadium, sometimes cost $300 or more.
The fact that this spiral of commercialization will continue to turn is also due to decision-makers like Craig Tiley. The South African converted the Australian Open from a tennis tournament into a music, family and party festival. He did it so successfully that the American tennis association USTA poached him, and now Tiley is making an ambitious start at the US Open. He can be criticized for the ruthlessness with which he pursues mammon. However, when Tiley repeatedly speaks in New York that there is an immense need that the US Open only wants to take into account with its eventization, that is not untrue.
Society is in a state of upheaval in times of social media and the constant search for stimuli. To put it bluntly, Tiley gives the people what they want. "This is going to become the Disneyland of tennis," Tiley assured, roughly revealing his plans: "There will be numerous opportunities for players, children and adults to come here and enjoy a variety of experiences. This is where we will see the greatest growth." Growth is one of his favorite words. Growth explains and justifies almost everything in his world.
With their posts, influencers arouse desire among a target group that was previously not interested in tennis
On the other hand, spectators who only want to enjoy Carlos Alcaraz's forehand are less likely to stimulate growth. It must also be consumed, drinks, souvenirs, food. New, wealthy groups of visitors are in demand. This is where influencers come into play. The most successful ones, like Paige Paul, wife of US professional Tommy Paul, or Morgan Riddle, former girlfriend of player Taylor Fritz, have management behind them and serve an audience of millions who follow them religiously online. They are business people and earn accordingly. There were months, Riddle once said, when she had higher income than Fritz.
With their professionally staged contributions, they arouse desire among a target group that was previously not interested in tennis. And internalized the feeling of Fomo. Fomo stands for Fear of Missing Out. “It’s just the market we have today,” said the German world number 98. Eva Lys, who can also call herself a successful content creator. The Hamburg resident has recognized how business is going. "You just get the masses for tennis now through all the influencing. Because people are on their cell phones all the time," she explained in New York, "I know a lot of people who didn't even come across me because they were such tennis fans. But because they thought the videos I posted were cool. And then they became tennis fans."
These words should make Tiley happy, because all he is supposed to do is give his customers a feeling: “We are all one big, happy family.” Sometimes he overdoes it with his selflessness, and yet his move to mobilize the masses is brilliant: Tiley essentially makes the US Open independent of whether one day there will still be great tennis players like Federer and Nadal or now Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka. His US Open adventure park is the star.
The US Open is paying out $108 million. You earn many times over
The two major professional tours have also realized that they have to jump on this bandwagon. The men's ATP Tour announced a cooperation with the Tiktok platform in 2025. The ATP held its first “Creator Summit” in New York. The WTA Women's Tour introduced the “WTA Creator Club” this year. The American association, reported the specialist portal Front Office Sports, employs around two dozen creative people who produce content during the US Open; Before the two weeks of the tournament, a “Fan Week” was also organized; this Grand Slam tournament now lasts three weeks. The longer, the more you can market, simple rule.
"The Americans do that well too, they are generally very extreme when it comes to marketing," said Lys and mentioned an aspect with which Tiley also gets the players on board: "The prize money here is also the highest of all the slams. There are certainly reasons for that." The US Open pays out $108 million, with losers in the first round alone collecting $140,000. The US Open can afford this, they generate many times as much. Also because the prices are exorbitant. The drink Honey Deuce, a vodka-based concoction that grosses millions, costs $23. If you want to eat chicken nuggets with caviar, you can do so - for $100. Riddle ate them by accident when she posted something about herself. Influencers are not reporters. They are marketing tools, to stay in technical jargon.
Opinions about them vary widely, depending on your interests. World number one Sabalenka, who particularly benefits from high prize money and attention, unsurprisingly finds it “great that they give tennis a new perspective”. Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard is torn: "Of course I wish that everyone who wants to go to the US Open can go and that real fans can watch. But if more brands or influencers take up these places, that's a bit of a shame."
Russian professional Daniil Medvedev, on the other hand, has mixed thoughts. The 2021 US Open winner would be bothered if the professionals mutated into extras in a purely marketing world: “I don’t like the term tennis Disneyland because it’s still a sport that’s about life and death,” he said. Basically he is open: "I trust Craig. I think he does a lot of good for tennis." The question is whether that is true. The answer remains to be seen.
