Umpire Tells Influencers to Stop Photo Shoot During US Open

There’s a time and a place to conduct a photo shoot, and during a tennis match at the US Open ain’t one of them.

A group of influencers had to be told to sit down at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York yesterday because they held an impromptu photo shoot during Naomi Osaka’s first-round match.

“Guys, please, in the suite behind me, thank you guys, please take your seat,” chair umpire Kader Nouni said to the group.

The interruption may have had an effect on Osaka, who was facing off against Anastasia Zakharova. The pair were deep into the second set, tied at 40-40, when the umpire chided the influencers. After calm was restored, Osaka struggled with her ball toss, apologizing to her opponent, before losing the point.

While Osaka ultimately won the match, the incident has drawn ire from tennis fans. Footage (below) of the influencer group shows one fan grimacing as they make a cringe-inducing video.

More footage shared from Osaka’s match shows another influencer posing for the camera while a light shines directly at the court during play.

@katticuspfinch Tennis etiquette is that you don’t even GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A POINT but now at @US Open apparently it’s ring lights and photo shoots everywhere in the MIDDLE OF A POINT. Listen, I love bringing new people to the open and I’m all for getting more people into tennis because it’s such a fun sport to watch but if you’re going to disrespect the players, you shouldn’t come to the match. And I LOVE content creators bringing tennis to everyone on social media but if you’re not going to be respectful of the game being played thats NOT OKAY. Yyou can see ring lights from all over the stadium and the umpire and players made it very clear that it’s a HUGE DISTRACTION and it’s now impacting the players ability to play the game we are all here to see. And apparently the us open and USTA are just fine with it because their staff is helping it happen. @influencersinthewild @Tennis Channel #nyccontentcreator #naomiosaka #usopen #tennistiktok #usopentennis ♬ original sound – There I Ruined It

It seems like the tournament itself invited the influencers, likely in the hope that the content creators will bring the game of tennis to a new audience. But their behavior clashes with tennis etiquette, which dictates that spectators should keep still when the ball is in play and only move around during changeovers.

Last year at the US Open, a photographer got into a heap of trouble after he walked onto the court during match point. Despite being ejected from the tournament, Turkish photojournalist Selcuk Acar insisted that he was the “victim and totally innocent.”