There’s no love in this crowd.
The fierce intensity at the US Open has moved off court and into the stands as a giant rift has erupted between clueless influencers and longtime fans furious over the lack of proper tennis-watching “etiquette.”
Veteran attendees of the famed tennis event are griping that its Flushing, Queens, stadiums have turned into an uncouth clubhouse for obnoxious social-media content creators who are more concerned with their online clout than witnessing the world-class play.
“Half the people here don’t watch tennis. They don’t understand the etiquette of tennis,” griped Steven Margolin, a writer and longtime US Open attendee.
“They’re talking through the points. They’re here on a business thing, they’re networking and talking through the points. They don’t care about tennis!”
The bad behavior ranges all over the map, said Margolin, 38.
He said he has witnessed nosebleed-seat-holders steal spots closer to the action and other boorish visitors even swipe commemorative Honey Deuce cups while their drinkers weren’t looking.
Margolin said a verbal brawl broke out during the Carlos Alcaraz-Ben Shelton match when a gawker stood in the aisle to film an entire segment that led to a point, thus blocking the view for the rows behind him.
Various viral videos also have captured a loud group filming a TikTok during Naomi Osaka’s first-round match, while an influencer in polka dots was seen posing for photos using a ring light during play.
“It gets worse every year,” Margolin said.
“The more influencers there are, the more people that see the influencers, the more people want to do their own thing.”
Katherin Slocum, 70, of Dobbs Ferry in Westchester County agreed, saying the US Open has turned more into a place to be seen rather than watch the highly anticipated sporting event.
The influencers have taken over especially during Fan Week, which was overrun by “attractive women in little tennis outfits with ring lights” this year, she said.
“We were sitting in [Arthur] Ashe [Stadium], and the influencers — in the middle during interesting points — would stand up with ring lights. We had to finally say, ‘Can you wait for the changeover?’ They said, ‘What’s a changeover?’” Slocum said.
“I don’t think they should ban them, but they should be educated about tennis etiquette.”
But an Open regular said the real problems are the stubborn stalwarts who are unwilling to let newbies into the fold.
The longtime courtsider, who asked to remain anonymous, said the regulars ignited the rift by showing off their own naughtiness, such as using other attendees’ bags as footrests, shooting dirty looks at them for ordering certain foods to the seats and accusing some of cutting in line when they hadn’t.
“This is like a daily thing. The US Open is a [snob] convention with tennis on the side,” the regular said.
“The real story of the Open is not the influencers. They’re harmless. The real story is it’s [an elitist] convention. … It’s really entitled, bad behavior.”
