{"id":2128487,"date":"2026-09-04T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2128487"},"modified":"2026-09-04T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:30:00","slug":"negative-publicity-is-crushing-the-us-opens-image-organisers-have-to-make-changes-quickly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2128487","title":{"rendered":"Negative publicity is crushing the US Open&#8217;s image &#8211; organisers have to make changes quickly"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Negative publicity is crushing the US Open\u2019s image \u2013 organisers have to make changes quickly<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/kevin-palmer\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Kevin Palmer                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"04 Sep 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-date=\"04 Sep 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1788550200\"><br \/>\n                            04 Sep 2026 8:30 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on 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    <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Negative publicity is crushing the US Open\u2019s image \u2013 organisers have to make changes quickly\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/aryna-sabalenka-aggression-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Sabalenka explained why letting her emotions actually helps her game.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>The 2026 US Open is facing a huge credibility crisis midway through the tournament, with world No 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/aryna-sabalenka\">Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> the latest high-profile player to speak publicly about an ongoing issue that may be hard to solve.<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka stopped her third-round US Open match against Kamila Rakhimova to complain to the umpire about the smell of weed inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, with her decision to halt the match highlighting an issue that was also raised by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/us-open-cannabis-complaints-continue-british-no-1-reveals-court-issue\">British No 1 Katie Boulter earlier in the tournament.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone is smoking weed,\u201d Sabalenka told the umpire. \u201cWould you mind to (tell them to deal with it) because it\u2019s so strong?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She expanded on the issue in her post-match press conference as she said: \u201cGuys, you can relax any way you want and you can smoke anything you want, but please don\u2019t do it around the tennis court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you are trying to perform at your best. There is nothing else to say about weed. I\u2019m just asking people not to smoke it around the tennis court.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>More Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\/naomi-osaka-message-us-open-social-media-influencers-crowd-disruptions\">US Open: Naomi Osaka addresses social media influencer problem in tennis<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/us-open-roundup-carlos-alcaraz-injury-warning-alex-eala-risks-fine\">US Open roundup: Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s injury message, Alex Eala risks fine, WTA star names \u2018not pleasant\u2019 rival<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Several players have now spoken about this issue that is a tricky problem for USTA chiefs to resolve, but another issue that is capturing more and more headlines is all of their own making.<\/p>\n<p>Tournament chiefs have invited \u2018influencers\u2019 to promote the event and their presence has become a major talking point.<\/p>\n<p>Matches have been halted as the social media creators have been making videos and promoting products during points, with Naomi Osaka less than impressed by their presence.<\/p>\n<p>Coco Gauff offered a more balanced view, but she admitted they need to respect the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s great to have a different demographic to the sport, and I think I have no problem with influencers,\u201d said Gauff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have met some of them and follow some of them online. Luckily, the ones I do follow online do follow the etiquette and know tennis pretty well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s like any venue you come to, you have to follow the etiquette towards it. I think it may be on some of the brands, too, maybe to have, like, a sign plastered or something in the suites so that they know. Because, you know, sometimes it\u2019s their first tennis match. They don\u2019t know. They have probably been to basketball games before.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I definitely think no flash photography, because that does bother [us], and I am one of the more lenient players. There is very few times you hear me complain about noise. The flash (light)\u2026 definitely no flash in the points and try not to talk too loud.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut like with anything, any venue you go to, like if you\u2019re being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn\u2019t show up in jeans. I think it\u2019s just, follow the etiquette of the sport. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The influencer issue has been a subject of intense discussion in recent days and unless the USTA reverse their decision to continue to hand them tickets in seats that are worth thousands of dollars, that issue is not going to change.<\/p>\n<p>Instagram and TikTok are filled with images of influencers promoting themselves and their brands, but it is open to debate whether they are attracting any new fans to tennis.<\/p>\n<p>The end result is a US Open that has a news agenda packed with negative stories and that is a blow to the image of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/us-open-cost-revealed-influencers-ruining-tennis\">Staggering cost of a sandwich at US Open revealed as influencers are accused of \u2018ruining\u2019 the tournament<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Negative publicity is crushing the US Open\u2019s image \u2013 organisers have to make changes quickly Kevin Palmer 04 Sep 2026 8:30 PM Sabalenka explained why letting her emotions actually helps her game. The 2026 US Open is facing a huge credibility crisis midway through the tournament, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka the latest high-profile [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2128487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2128487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2128487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2128487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2128487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}