The response from Jessica Pegula was telling. It also captured a crossroads tucked into the first week of the U.S. Open, the Grand Slam that’s every bit bougie and swanky and ritzy and has seen its reach skyrocket as influencers collide with the tennis product at Flushing Meadows.
The $23 Honey Deuces. The TikToks. The blue carpet. The experience of it all. The “big-show Grand Slam,” as Madison Keys called it.
Pegula knows this stage better than most. As the No. 3 seed in the women’s draw, and as someone who lost in the 2024 final and 2025 semifinals here, she’s used to the spotlight. And after her match Wednesday, a straight-sets victory over unseeded Sofia Kenin, Pegula fielded a question about crowd culture — which hit a nadir this week when a chair umpire asked people in a suite to take their seats during Naomi Osaka’s match Monday and viral videos captured ring lights being used while filming influencers at matches.
“I do think that it’s tough when you see videos like that when they’re taking pictures and using the selfie lights,” Pegula said. “People are down there trying to perform, and it’s their career and their job. It seems like a bit disrespectful. I think it’s gotten a little, maybe, too much, it feels like, this year. I don’t know.
“I think, again, I can appreciate one side of it, but I think when you have the other side literally interrupting matches, it gets a little tough.”
The video — and brief delay — in Osaka’s match captured some growing tension. It quickly evolved into a discussion point during the first official week of the tournament.
But there’s a give and a take with it all. No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, who also cruised into the third round via straight sets Wednesday, said that “the more we try to raise awareness about tennis, the better it is, the more popular the sport is.”
But, he added, it can be challenging sometimes if a light disturbs the flow during the point.
“Still, in general, the more the sport grows, the better it is,” Medvedev said. “So I would say this way: I trust USTA with what they are doing. … I think more, a lot of more upside than downside.”
The U.S. Open’s credentials for content creators nearly doubled from 54 to 100 this year, according to Sportico. In a statement to The Post on Wednesday, the USTA said it wants “our fans and guests to have an incredible time when they attend the US Open, but we also need to ensure that does not interfere with the action and competition on the court.
These instances happen infrequently, and similar to when crowd noise reaches a certain level, our chair umpires have the ability to address the crowd when they occur.”
The presence of the U.S. Open on social media has shaped its modern identity.
Pegula has carved out a space in the media world, too, as one of four co-hosts — alongside Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk — on “The Player’s Box” podcast.
An article on the U.S. Open website earlier this month cited $1.2 billion in economic impact from the tournament annually. Around 1.14 million fans, a record number, attended last year. Fan Week has continued to soar.
“I think I can appreciate, you know, the influencers coming and kind of showcasing, like, the U.S. Open experience,” Pegula said. “I think that’s something that the U.S. Open has utilized a lot as far as food and drinks and things to do and the shops. That part is part of a fan experience and something that people might not know and make them want to go.”
The rise of the influencer space has directly contributed to that. It’ll only continue to do so over the next 10 days, too, as Pegula attempts to finally win an elusive Grand Slam title and Medvedev tries to emerge from the men’s draw as champion for the first time since 2021.
But the opening days of the tournament have also served as a reminder of the limits, of when the videos go too far and infringe on the sport itself.
The flip side of the benefit has started to appear, too. And Pegula and Medvedev captured both sides of the emerging debate.
