The US Open wants to be for everyone. Not everyone knows the etiquette

It makes sense that the most attractive audience to any money-making venture is whatever one is still relatively untapped. We’re living in an era where success is measured not in sustainability or even sheer size but nothing short of endless, indefinite growth. For a tennis tournament, that tantalizing market of maybe-future customers means people who do not currently know or care all that much about tennis. There’s no moral judgement to that characterization. Ignorance or even disinterest about tennis is a perfectly fine way to be as a person. Provided you’re not attending a high profile — and increasingly prohibitively pricey — tennis match in cushy, comped seats. The US Open would like to believe those people are either fans who just don’t know it yet or that such a disposition does not preclude enjoying themselves at a tennis match. It probably doesn’t. The tears that might make Novak Djokovic reconsider his tennis future The weather this week in New York has been mostly glorious. The grounds of the US Open are buzzing with beautiful people. The food options are decadent. The Honey Deuce is dangerously delicious (based on a single, very professional sip taken by this serious journalist). And yet, the discourse around the tournament centers on the “close to 100” credentialed influencers creating tennis-adjacent content a little too close to the tennis itself. In viral videos, content creators are seen filming during active moments in the match. There have been concerns about the use of ring lights or camera flashes during play. The umpires have repeatedly reminded attendees to quiet down in between games. The viral signature drink of the US Open, the Honey Deuce, has been sold at the tournament for nearly 20 years. Last year, the tournament sold approximately 740,000 drinks, bringing the total in sales to around $17.2 million. CNN spoke to fans at the US Open who say they were expecting the drink to cost more due to its popularity. During the first week of the tournament, players were asked about the potential distraction or disturbance of such a presence at the Open. Coco Gauff said the light was a bigger issue than the sound, “because that does bother – and I am one of the more lenient players.” For Naomi Osaka, it was the opposite. “There was a moment where there was, like, people shouting and stuff, and you could hear it quite clearly. I think it bothered my opponent, too,” she said. “I don’t really see the lights, because obviously, like, when you are serving, you’re looking at the sun or you’re looking at the night lights. It was more the noise.” Regardless of the specifics, the upshot was, as Jessica Pegula put it: “People are down there trying to perform, and it’s their career and their job. It seems a bit disrespectful.” [Read Full Story on Cnn →](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/sport/us-open-influencers)