Tennis Meets the Creator Economy at the US Open

Lights. Camera. Quiet, please.

At the US Open in New York, tennis is colliding head-on with the creator economy, and the fault line is running straight through Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For generations, the sport has been governed by a code as much as a rulebook. Players apologise for net cords. They own up to double bounces. They shake hands, even after three-hour wars. In the stands, the deal has always been simple: you watch, you react, but you do not interfere.

Now, about 100 influencers and content creators have been granted accreditation at this year’s tournament – roughly double last year’s number – and that old agreement is under strain.

When the ring light comes on

The flashpoint came during two-time champion Naomi Osaka’s first-round match on Arthur Ashe. High above the court, in a hospitality suite, a group staged a photo shoot while points were being played. They switched on a portable ring light as Osaka stepped up to serve.

The umpire stepped in. The light went off. The debate switched on.

By the time Osaka returned to Ashe on Thursday, the noise around her matches was no longer just the usual New York buzz. The umpire repeatedly had to ask the crowd to be quiet.

“Today the umpire told everyone to be quiet more than I've ever heard an umpire tell a crowd to be quiet,” Osaka said.

She usually blocks out the chaos. This time, she couldn’t.

“There was a moment where there was people shouting and you could hear it quite clearly,” she added. “I think it bothered my opponent, too.”

One clip from her opening match has gone viral: a group speaking loudly into a camera as they film themselves, forcing the chair umpire to call for them to stop.

Osaka is not against the idea of new audiences or the people who bring them. She is against ignorance of the stage they’ve walked onto.

“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.”

‘You wouldn’t show up in jeans’

Coco Gauff, world number four and one of the sport’s most powerful young voices, sees the value in a new demographic turning up – but she wants them to understand where they are.

“I definitely think it's cool to have a new demographic and I definitely think it helps grow the sport,” she said.

Then she drew a line.

“But 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.”

The etiquette, in this case, is not complicated: no flash photography during points, no ring lights, no loud filming while players are serving for their livelihoods.

New York noise, new kind of crowd

Arthur Ashe is not Wimbledon’s Centre Court. It is the biggest tennis stadium in the world, a concrete bowl that hums with conversation even between serves. Some players feed off that restless energy. Others feel it closing in.

Daniil Medvedev, the men’s seventh seed and a man who has had his own turbulent history with the New York crowd, is firmly in the “bring it on” camp when it comes to visibility.

“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, one of the faces of the modern, more open US Open, revels in the mix.

“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.”

The tension lies not in who is coming, but in what they do once they get there.

‘It seems a bit disrespectful’

Jessica Pegula, the world number three and another American standard-bearer, struck a different tone. She understands the marketing value. She does not like seeing careers turned into background props.

“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.”

Tennis meets ‘Disneyland’

The US Open has spent the past few years reshaping itself as more than a tennis tournament. In 2024, organisers introduced a policy of free fan movement, scrapping the old rule that fans had to wait for changeovers to take their seats.

A year later, the event stretched to 15 days. The week before the main singles draw is now sold as ‘Fan Week’, built around a revamped mixed doubles competition and exhibitions featuring past and present stars.

It is all part of what tournament chief executive Craig Tiley has called an ambition to create “the tennis Disneyland”.

Influencers sit at the heart of that strategy. Asked before the tournament about their accreditation, Tiley was clear about the thinking.

“We need to find ways of reaching new audiences, reaching people in a way that they connect with media today,” he said.

“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.”

The US Tennis Association echoed that in a statement, saying 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 added.

“We are continually looking for ways to ensure fans in the stands know what is permitted and what is prohibited.”

Since the Osaka incident, screens around the grounds have carried stronger messages, asking spectators to “refrain from any activity that could disrupt the game, including noise levels, flash photography and ring lights”.

The line between show and sport

This is the balance tennis is wrestling with in New York. A sport eager to grow, to feel younger and more connected, is inviting cameras and creators into its most sacred spaces. At the same time, its athletes are demanding that the court remains a place of work, not just content.

For now, the code still stands: quiet during points, respect for the players, respect for the game. The question, as the ring lights glow in the luxury suites and the phones rise above the seats, is how long that code can hold in the age of the algorithm.