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\n Photo: Brian Friedman\/USTA via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
The summer of influencer backlash<\/a> continues at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n On Monday night, Naomi Osaka\u2019s match against Anastasia Zakharova at the Arthur Ashe Stadium was interrupted when the umpire repeatedly asked a rowdy suite of influencers to be quiet as they filmed what looked like a TikTok dance underneath a bright light. Footage of the incident went viral online<\/a>, garnering over 1,500 comments, many from frustrated tennis fans complaining about the invasion of distracting influencers at the U.S. Open in recent years. Tension that\u2019s been simmering for the past few years \u2014 ever since Honey Deuces and tennis WAGs became Instagram feed fixtures \u2014 boiled over in the comments section. A woman claiming to be one of the offending photo-takers<\/a> in the video also chimed in, defending the light and insisting the \u201cempire [sic] said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll around the stadium, there were people \u2014 in the middle of serves and in the middle of points \u2014\u00a0getting up, walking through the crowd down to the closest they could get to the court in their section, and taking pictures, taking videos, using ring lights,\u201d says Katherine, a lifelong tennis fan who posted the video. Typically, tennis crowds are expected to wait until the end of a set \u2014 or at least between points \u2014 to move around the stadium. Still, the U.S. Open relaxed its rules about walking around during matches<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n @katticuspfinch<\/a> <\/p>\n Tennis etiquette is that you don\u2019t even GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A POINT but now at @US Open apparently it\u2019s ring lights and photo shoots everywhere in the MIDDLE OF A POINT. Listen, I love bringing new people to the open and I\u2019m all for getting more people into tennis because it\u2019s such a fun sport to watch but if you\u2019re going to disrespect the players, you shouldn\u2019t come to the match. And I LOVE content creators bringing tennis to everyone on social media but if you\u2019re not going to be respectful of the game being played thats NOT OKAY. Yyou can see ring lights from all over the stadium and the umpire and players made it very clear that it\u2019s a HUGE DISTRACTION and it\u2019s now impacting the players ability to play the game we are all here to see. And apparently the us open and USTA are just fine with it because their staff is helping it happen. @influencersinthewild @Tennis Channel #nyccontentcreator<\/a> #naomiosaka<\/a> #usopen<\/a> #tennistiktok<\/a> #usopentennis<\/a> <\/p>\n \u266c original sound – There I Ruined It<\/a> <\/p>\n She said the umpire turned to look at a particularly rowdy suite of about a dozen people and asked them to be quiet several times. They were being filmed by a U.S. Open usher holding a very bright light the size of a cell phone. \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem like they were aware that the umpire was talking to them because they weren\u2019t really watching the match,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen that in the middle of a point. The flash was the craziest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe this was inevitable. In recent years, the United States Tennis Association has been working to turn the U.S. Open into what the organization\u2019s CEO recently described as \u201ctennis Disneyland<\/a>\u201d \u2014 piling on\u00a0family-friendly events and Instagram-bait activations around the games. Inviting influencers is part of that strategy. This year, according to Sportico<\/a>, the USTA gave 100 influencers and podcasters media credentials \u2014 up from 50 last year. And that\u2019s not counting the creators who land invites from brands that sponsor suites.<\/p>\n Arthur Ashe is so unbelievably loud it\u2019s insane. I started chatting w my section usher and he said that the amount of people emailing the @usopen<\/a> to tell them to tell people to stfu is unprecedented and he\u2019s never heard it this loud before in his 25 years of working there.<\/p>\n \u2014 Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) September 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The influx is grating on tennis fans, who\u2019ve complained about rising ticket prices, increased crowds, and newcomers who seem to be unaware of tennis etiquette \u2014 or worse, are uninterested in the game. In a recent article diagnosing the U.S. Open\u2019s \u201cinfluencer problem,\u201d the Mercer Edition<\/a>, a culture magazine, wrote, \u201cThis sport is built around a level of concentration that can\u2019t be understood until fully observed, and as such, brands should take that into consideration when offering to open the doors for vanity metrics and corporate satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n Katherine said tennis fans have gotten \u201creally fatigued with influencer culture\u201d at the Open over the past two years. The tournament has always been known for its loud and rowdy crowds, but the rush of selfies is a bridge too far. \u201cOnce it\u2019s impacting the play of the game, that\u2019s a breaking point.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n