The USTA credentialed close to 100 content creators for the 2026 US Open, nearly double the 54 it credentialed when the program started in 2025. About 20 of those creators cover food and drink alone. During professional tennis player Naomi Osaka's first-round win over Anastasia Zakharova on August 31, a group in a suite ran an impromptu photoshoot with ring lights while play was live. Chair umpire Kader Nouni stopped the match and told them to sit down. None of the people involved were actually credentialed. Days later, the USTA pulled the credentials of two content creators, Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens. The USTA said a food vendor had listed the pair as staff instead of properly credentialing them as media. Radice and Jongens said the USTA pulled their access right after they posted a video showing off their credentials, not because they broke any rule.

1. Fine in Theory, Enforce the Etiquette (Naomi Osaka, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff)

Nobody in this camp wants influencers gone. They want the tournament to actually enforce the rules on them.

This camp's ask is simple: respect the sport. Osaka said, "I think obviously if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport," adding that it's "common courtesy to read up on the sport, especially the etiquette." After a later match, she noted how often officials had to intervene: "Today, the umpire told everyone to be quiet more than I've ever heard."

This camp says interrupting players mid-match is disrespectful. Professional tennis player Jessica Pegula, ranked world No. 3, said she appreciates creators showcasing the tournament. But she called the selfie-light incidents "a bit disrespectful" — "people are down there trying to perform," and tennis is their job.

This camp is asking for etiquette, not a ban. Professional tennis player Coco Gauff said the new audience is good for the sport, but "if you're being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn't show up in jeans."

2. But More Eyes on Tennis Is Worth It (Aryna Sabalenka, John Isner, USTA officials Jeanmarie Daly and Brendan McIntyre)

This camp sees the disruptions as manageable friction next to a much bigger audience win.

This camp says more people watching tennis is worth celebrating. World No. 1 women's player Aryna Sabalenka said, "I love it, I love it. It's more eyes on our sport," at a Brooklyn event during the tournament, adding, "I love that they bring this fresh eye on tennis."

This camp says creators are pulling in fans who'd never watch tennis. Retired professional player John Isner said, "It's brought a lot of novice eyeballs to our sport," crediting them with helping turn the Open into more of a spectacle.

The program exists to reach people traditional media doesn't, the USTA says. USTA director of media operations Jeanmarie Daly said "traditional media and content creators reach different audiences in different ways," and that the goal was "the broadest possible spectrum of coverage."

This camp says the rules are actually enforced, not just posted. USTA head of communications Brendan McIntyre said the program runs on "formal guidelines" and pointed to added signage and reminders to suite holders. The USTA then followed through, pulling two creators' credentials once it found they'd been improperly listed.

3. Either Way, This Was Always Going to Happen (Leslie Koroma, CEO of Africa Sports Ventures Group)

This isn't a debate about whether influencers belong. It's a read on where sports marketing money is already going.

This camp says money is driving the shift, not taste. Koroma acknowledged the traditionalist complaints as legitimate. Koroma still said plainly: "This isn't going away any time soon; we're living in a digital, tech age, and this trend will continue."

The money backs that up. Tournament marketing spend on traditional advertising fell from roughly $30 million in 2021-2022 to about $17 million in 2023-2024. That decline makes cheaper, creator-driven reach look less like a gimmick and more like where the budget was headed anyway.

Where This Lands

Osaka, Pegula, and Gauff aren't asking the USTA to shut the program down — they're asking it to enforce the etiquette it already claims to have. Sabalenka, Isner, and the USTA itself see the tradeoff as an easy call — the audience gain is worth the occasional friction. Koroma treats the whole fight as beside the point. The money already moved, Koroma says — the etiquette debate is just playing out on top of a decision the USTA already made. The next disruptive incident will be the real test. If the USTA revokes more credentials over it, that shows which of these three readings the tournament actually believes.

Sources