How influencers are killing the US Open and turning it into a ‘zoo’: Angry top stars hit out at ‘disrespectful’ and noisy content creators disrupting matches for pictures

Naomi Osaka was not having the easiest time on court. Having battled through a tie-break to edge the first set, she was serving at 4-4 in the second. Then, her concentration snapped.

Up in the luxury suites, a group of influencers were posing for photographs using a bright, portable light. As they milled about the box, unaware of the tension below, their distraction was enough to prompt a warning from the chair umpire. But it took a few moments for the message to filter through. After all, their focus was on getting the perfect shot.

Welcome to the 2026 US Open. Long the envy of the Grand Slams for the late-night energy and glamour that only New York can provide, this year’s tournament has been subject to complaints about being overrun with influencers who see the final major of the year as little more than a creative backdrop on social media.

‘People are down there trying to perform, and it’s their career and their job. It seems like a bit disrespectful,’ US No 1 Jessica Pegula said when asked about the incident in Osaka’s match after her own bow on Arthur Ashe, the tournament’s biggest court. ‘I think it’s gotten a little too much, it feels, this year.’

There’s no mystery behind why the US Open has become such a popular destination to tick off for the well-travelled influencer.

‘The US Open has evolved from a tennis tournament into one of the most powerful cultural points on the New York calendar,’ notes Reece Milner, Senior Strategy Manager at The Goat Agency, a creator and influencer marketing shop. ‘It now sits at the intersection of sport, fashion, luxury, hospitality, celebrity, lifestyle and content culture.’

The ‘rituals’ that appear so frequently on social media feeds that you might be able to play US Open bingo, like enjoying a night match, a Honey Deuce cocktail or $100 COQODAQ chicken nugget-and-caviar box, Milner adds, have only served to crystallise its status.

The US Open has seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years and brands hosting influencers at the tournament in a bid to borrow its cultural clout has risen too

This is no one-way street either, with the US Open well aware of its cultural power outside of tennis as well as within. The tournament has embraced the influencer, this year going as far as to credential 100 content creators, with US Open head of communications Brendan McIntyre noting that in years to come, the number is only going to ‘go upwards’.

But those influencers aren’t necessarily the problem. Tennis media has evolved to take in TikTok, Instagram, and Substack experts, all invested in growing interest in the game itself. More worthy of skepticism are those who might be spending one night at the Open, making it a race against time to get the perfect picture, action on court be damned.

The US Open has never been Wimbledon, and that’s a good thing. The noise of an Arthur Ashe night session makes for pleasing whiplash after the prim-and-proper hush of Centre Court as the tour bounces between the two majors.

But as greater numbers of guests flood into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with limited interest in the tennis and more on their feed, the noise levels of ambient chatter, rather than engagement in the match, have caused problems for players.

‘On Ashe, you hear everything,’ Pegula added. ‘Even when there’s dead noise, there’s still a buzz or a chatter or people talking and eating and laughing and all these different kind of emotions. You really have to do a good job of locking yourself in a bubble when you’re out there.’

Of fans on the outdoor courts, French player Adrian Mannarino was more forthright: ‘They come in any which way, they move around, they talk. It’s the tournament that tolerates this, and I don’t know if it’s the best idea for the game in general. There’s noise coming from everywhere. It’s become a bit of a zoo.’

Watching Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday, the noise of the crowd never dipped below ‘pub garden’. Since the tournament ushered in ‘free fan movement’ in 2024 which allows fans to come and go without waiting for changeovers or set breaks, the policy has been followed to the letter, with the lower bowl constantly in motion.

Influencers have added to the heat around the US Open and their enviable photographs will have translated, in part, to ticket sales

Inside Arthur Ashe Stadium is a constant hum of noise as fans move in their seats during points

That’s where most of the chatter comes from too, with the seats in the gods crammed with fans locked in on the action, and quieter during play.

As Alcaraz took the first game after losing his opening set to Jaime Faria, the noise rises to a roar, with the same staticky thickness of a sound machine playing a recording of the ocean at full volume. At 0-15, clearly distracted, the Portuguese player serves a double fault. The chair umpire gives a warning when a fan shouts down from the stands as he’s preparing to serve again, but does little to dim the constant conversation.

Nor have those in the suites learned their lesson. Despite the US Open displaying messages around the site telling fans to refrain from using flash or lights to take pictures, Daily Mail Sport spotted flashes going off during Sabalenka’s thrashing of Polina Iatcenko. A statement shared after the Osaka incident placed the responsibility for wrangling misbehaving influencers on the chair umpires, who ‘have the ability to address the crowd’ when ‘infrequent’ disruptions occur.

Influencers have added to the heat around the US Open and their enviable photographs will have translated, in part, to ticket sales. But if the goal is to get more fans into the sport, week-in, week-out, they need great tennis played in a great tennis atmosphere – and inside on the tournament’s biggest courts, that can no longer be guaranteed.