Published: 16:25 BST, 3 September 2026 | Updated: 21:07 BST, 3 September 2026
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.
A group of influencers caught flack for using a portable light to take pictures during Naomi Osaka's match
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.'
