Viral video shoots and ring lights disrupted at the US Open has sparked player and fan backlash — exposing a large gap in how creator access is managed.
This year’s US Open nearly doubled its influencer accreditation program, from 54 content creators last year to roughly 100 this year, as part of a United States Tennis Association (USTA) push to widen the tournaments audience beyond traditional tennis fans.
Multiple matches were interrupted by content creators filming, posing and using bright lights in the audience.
In one widely spread clip, one content creator was using a ring light to create content, which Naomi Osaka claimed was shining directly in her eyes during play. Another viral clip, captured a group of creators, participating loudly in the viral TikTok trend during a match.
This was one of the cringiest things I’ve ever seen live. The US Open used to be an actual tennis tournament https://t.co/1kAYND6VOe pic.twitter.com/c1jbi4lUlQ
— Danny Singer (@michiganboy310) September 2, 2026
@katticuspfinch Tennis etiquette is that you don’t even GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A POINT but now at @US Open apparently it’s ring lights and photo shoots everywhere in the MIDDLE OF A POINT. Listen, I love bringing new people to the open and I’m all for getting more people into tennis because it’s such a fun sport to watch but if you’re going to disrespect the players, you shouldn’t come to the match. And I LOVE content creators bringing tennis to everyone on social media but if you’re 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’s a HUGE DISTRACTION and it’s 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 #naomiosaka #usopen #tennistiktok #usopentennis ♬ original sound – There I Ruined It
For sporting codes, that shift towards the utilisation of content creators is as commercial as it is editorial. Creators can extend the reach of an event beyond the stadium, put brands and experiences in front of highly engaged audiences and make sporting moments part of the broader social conversation.
For Hypetap managing director Bryce Coombe, the current backlash is a familiar growing pain.
“Sporting codes are trying to monetise and commercialise attention and they need to capture the next generation of fans through next-generation channels,” he said.
“But we’ve been here before. This evolution is almost identical to when TV broadcast first introduced bulky cameras in stadiums. In fact, some of the best “seats in the house” at tennis today are utilised by traditional TV broadcast cameras or broadcast boxes. Sports adapted to press, then radio, then TV because audience growth in those channels was necessary. It’s the same requirement now”.
Ainslee Baruhas, head of client partnerships at Kill Boring Dead framed the friction as less about who’s in the room and more so around what they were told before they arrived.
“The real gap is nobody attached conditions to the pass. Accreditation is a license, not a ticket. A creator working courtside needs the same brief a broadcast crew gets,”
“Most brands aren’t actually taking the time and rigour in the influencer selection process. Brand managers aren’t looking outside of their algorithm. The same crowd at every event or VIP suite, that becomes the shortlist by default” Baruhas added.
“Protecting the in-venue experience and chasing a younger audience were never really in conflict. What’s in conflict is speed of growth versus the discipline of selection, and right now growth is winning”.
The backlash isn’t evidence that younger audience and traditional tennis etiquette aren’t compatible. It’s evidence that the industry built to manage the overlap hasn’t kept pace.
“Creators can add enormous value by taking fans behind the scenes and telling stories that traditional coverage, and even brands, can’t always tell authentically. The opportunity is to define what the right access looks like, giving creators enough freedom to bring audiences closer to the sport while ensuring they understand and respect its etiquette, without getting in the way of the sport,” We Are Social Australia’s client service director Helene Ioakimidis added.
The USTA has since responded by adding signage around the sporting stadium. It also sent direct reminders to ticket and suite holders warning against flash photography, ring light usage and anything else that could potentially disrupt the flow of play.
Players were split on the incident. Osaka said they needed to “respect the sport”, while Jessica Pegula said she could appreciate the purpose of influencers in the crowd but felt the move was somewhat “disrespectful”.
Others, including Daniil Medvedev has argued that the exposure is worth the trade-off. He said he trusted the USTA’s approach to growing the game’s audience.
As reported by ESPN, Wimbledon will not introduce any accreditation category and has warned it will confiscate any equipment that could disrupt the flow of play including ring lights.
The US Open has exposed a widening gap between how quickly rights holders are expanding creator access and how slowly the are building guardrails to to manage it.
As for the Australian Open, the sporting event has long relied on digital content and creator partnerships in order to grow its own audience. B&T has reached out to Tennis Australia for comment, on whether or not it will employ stricter policies regarding content creators and courtside behaviours.
