Lights, camera, action: Irksome influencers at the US Open are here to stay

Influencers at this year’s US Open have stolen the spotlight for disrupting play and acting in a way that is antithetical to traditional tennis etiquette, drawing the ire of players and spectators alike.But despite the pushback and complaints, it looks like they’re here to stay.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Sabalenka interrupts US Open match against Rakhimova over cannabis smelllist 2 of 4Djokovic suffers shock first round exit at US Open amid tears and painlist 3 of 4Jovic moved to tears after beating ‘incredible’ friend Eala in US Open epiclist 4 of 4US Open 2026: All to know about the schedule, top seeds and favouritesend of listTennis’s biggest stars weren’t battling weather extremes and challenging court surfaces last week when the year’s fourth and final Grand Slam got under way at Flushing Meadows in New York. The disruption, rather, came from flashy ring lights, untimely selfies and raucous behaviour from influencers in the spectator stands.The use of influencers – social media personalities who create content for followers online – is a relatively new trend in sports marketing across major sporting tournaments like tennis’s US Open and football’s FIFA World...