Like a Biblical plague that descended upon Egypt, influencers have crashed the US Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows this year.
The final tennis major of the season has become mostly about everything but the tennis. The US Open invited 100 influencers and content creators, nearly double last year’s number. Videos are flooding social media from inside the stadium. And the Honey Deuce and Salt Hank’s are getting just as much publicity as Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.
But influencers weren’t just stealing the show on social media. They also affected the tennis itself, and not in a good way. Matches were disrupted multiple times, in particular Naomi Osaka’s first-round match.
Thankfully, Wimbledon will see no such disruptions.
The Press Association confirmed that Wimbledon has no plans to invite content creators or influencers to its Grand Slam event and will ban objects like ring cameras that could affect play.
It’s no surprise as Wimbledon is the most traditional event on the tennis calendar and prides itself on the etiquette expected of players and spectators alike. It’s also interesting to see the tennis tournament take such a clear stand when the golfing equivalent, the Masters, has fallen under fire for bending too much to the will of influencers. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley admitted regret over having Dude Perfect film a video on the course. And Jason Kelce’s presence at the Par 3 contest this year didn’t exactly go over well either.
It’s a tough spot for tennis because they obviously want to grow the sport to a new audience, and inviting influencers and content creators to put your sport in front of millions of potential new fans is one of the best ways to do it today. But it can’t come at the price of sacrificing the thing that you are trying to grow in the first place.
About Matt Yoder