Influencers at the U.S. Open causing some problems

The word of the day at the U.S. Open on Friday was “influencers.’’

Social media influencers have been a hot topic at the Open since Monday night, when a chair umpire officiating the match between Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Zakharova had to stop play to tell a group of people in a suite to quiet down. They were overly noisy while posing for pictures during a point in the match.

During the same match, another person thought to be an influencer was doing a stand-up in the stands during a point, with a bright ring light shining on her as she created content.

“I can appreciate the influencers coming and kind of showcasing the U.S. Open experience,’’ Jessica Pegula said on Tuesday when asked about the incident after her victory over Sofia Kenin. “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.

“But I do think that it’s tough when you see videos like that, when they’re taking pictures and using the selfie lights,’’ Pegula added. “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 great to have a different demographic to the sport, and I think I have no problem with influencers,’’ Coco Gauff said on Thursday. “I 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.

“Any venue you come to, you have to follow the etiquette towards it,’’ Gauff said. “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’s their first tennis match. They don’t know.’’

SEE PHOTOSCelebs at the U.S. Open

Brendan McIntyre, the head of tennis content and communication at the U.S. Open and a spokesman for the U.S. Tennis Association, said the USTA began issuing credentials to influencers to attend the Open last year. Last year, 50 credentials were issued, and this year the number is more than 100.

“It’s a way of us engaging with new media, if you will,’’ McIntyre said. “The USTA’s mission is to grow the game. We want to get more people involved with the sport. We want to introduce them to tennis and we want to find every possible way of doing it. And working with content creators is a way of kind of reaching people where they are now.’’

McIntyre said content creator credentials are issued based on audience numbers, the kind of content being created and other factors in the same way credentials are issued to traditional media. Influencers who are granted a credential are made aware of the conduct that is expected of them at the event.

“We work with them,’’ he said. “We make sure that they have the guidelines, that they have an understanding of what is permitted and not.

“Now — and we’re very happy about this — tennis has seen tremendous growth in popularity in the last six years,’’ he said. “When you bring new fans into the sport, sometimes they don’t know what is expected at a tennis match, right? They’re used to going to baseball games, or basketball games, or a football game, or a concert, or another event of some kind, right? And tennis does have differences from those.’’

McIntyre said the woman who used the ring light during the Osaka-Zakharova match was not a credentialed influencer and thus might not have known that using a camera with a light to create content while play is going on is a no-no. He said the USTA doesn’t know who the woman is and did not talk to her after the incident.

“It could have just been a fan taking a photo and they wanted some good lighting, right?’’ he said.

Two influencers credentialed for the event had their credentials revoked. McIntyre said that case was unrelated to the events of Monday night.

“These individuals were not credentialed as media or content creators,’’ he said in the USTA’s official statement. “They were improperly submitted for credentials on a staff list provided by a food vendor. Vendors are not permitted to credential media, content creators, or outside individuals as part of their staff.

“We review credentials throughout the tournament to ensure compliance with all U.S. Open policies. When we identified that these individuals had been improperly credentialed, their access was revoked and vendors were reminded of our policy.’’

Osaka wasn’t asked after her match against Zakharova about the disturbance, but she was asked about the situation after her win over Katerina Siniakova on Thursday.

“I wasn’t really paying attention,” she said. “I tell people I normally just focus on the match and the court, but there was a moment where there was, like, people shouting and stuff, and you could hear it quite clearly. I think it bothered my opponent, too.’’

Said Gauff, “I definitely think it’s cool to have a new demographic and I definitely think it helps grow the sport. But like with anything, any venue you go to, like if you’re being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn’t show up in jeans.”

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.