Naomi Osaka said spectators at the U.S. Open need to respect the sport after her first-round match was interrupted by influencers and other crowd behavior drew fresh scrutiny at the year’s final Grand Slam. The scene at Arthur Ashe Stadium wasn’t just noisy. It was a reminder that even a supposedly elite sporting event can turn into a managed spectacle, with the people on court expected to perform while the crowd treats the place like content.
Who Gets to Disrupt
Osaka, who returned to the U.S. Open court in 2026, said Thursday, Sept. 3, after her 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Katerina Siniakova that people attending a sporting event have to respect the sport and learn the etiquette. "If you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport. I feel like it’s common courtesy to read up on the sport," Osaka said. "You want people to continue to grow the sport. I just think it has to be in a way that everyone knows the rules and the etiquette."
The chair umpire had already paused Osaka's first-round match against Anastasia Zakharova earlier in the week to address a group of spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium. "Guys, please, in the suite behind me ... please take your seat," the chair umpire announced. USA Today said a viral video from Osaka's first-round win showed a group of fans filming an apparent TikTok video during the second set, and another video showed a fan using a selfie light to take pictures during the same match. The apparatus of order had to stop play so the crowd could be told, again, to sit down and behave.
The People on Court Pay the Price
Osaka said the exposure influencers can generate "could be a good thing ... to make the sport of tennis popular," but added that the distractions have "to be managed a lot better." That’s the bargain the event keeps selling: more attention, more noise, more intrusion, and the players absorb the cost. Jessica Pegula also weighed in, saying she could "appreciate the influencers coming and showcasing the US Open experience," including "$100 caviar nuggets" and the "wildly popular Honey Deuce cocktail" that help attract visitors to Flushing Meadows each year. But Pegula said the behavior was getting to be "a bit disrespectful."
She said, "I do think that it's tough when you see videos like that when they're taking pictures and using the selfie lights. People are down there trying to perform. It's their career and their job ... So 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."
That’s the hierarchy in plain sight. The players are expected to carry the show. The crowd gets to consume it. When the performance gets interrupted, the burden lands on the people whose labor is the match itself.
Growth, Management, and the USTA
Daniil Medvedev said there is "a lot of more upside than downside" to the new tennis fans attending the U.S. Open. "The more the sport grows, the better it is," Medvedev said. "I trust USTA (United States Tennis Association) with what they're doing. For sure, if it disturbs during the play, like if you see a light or something, well, you always say it to the referee ... maybe one time they do it, then someone tells them not to do it."
That’s the reformist script in miniature. Trust the institution. Ask the referee. Hope the same structure that packages the event for profit and spectacle will also police its own excesses. Meanwhile, the match keeps getting interrupted, and the people on court keep having to absorb the disruption.
The Athletic said the U.S. Open bracket remained competitive, with all of the top 10 still vying for the title as the third round began, something that hadn't happened at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2009. It said Naomi Osaka returned to the court as she expanded her fashion vision at the final Grand Slam of 2026. The article also said the women’s draw featured wins by Iga Świątek, Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, while the men’s draw saw Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, Botic van de Zandschulp, Karen Khachanov, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Arthur Rinderknech and others advance or fall.
Heat, Injury, and the Cost Below
The tournament’s polished surface didn’t hide the strain underneath. The Athletic said Zheng Qinwen beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to reach the third round, and that she said, "That’s why when I won I laid down on the court and cried," adding, "You know when you get sick, you are weak. This weakness made me feel like, ‘Oh, I finally got it,’ and I couldn’t control my emotions." Zheng also said this U.S. Open was the first time she had felt like herself again in a long time after elbow surgery and a ranking drop to world No. 121.
The Athletic said Taylor Fritz beat Mattia Bellucci 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 98 minutes and said, "Even though I love grass, I do think these conditions are better for me." It said Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian No. 13 seed, beat wild card Dane Sweeny of Australia before losing 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to heat-related illness, and that he said, "There’s no possibility to warm up physically outside, to acclimatize a little bit," and "The shock was pretty big for me in terms of temperature, and that probably could be something that was part of this feeling not well."
It said Canadian No. 3 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime lost 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to Karen Khachanov after saying he "just couldn’t feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots."
The Athletic also said No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina's 6-2, 6-4 win over Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro meant all of the top 10 were still vying for the U.S. Open title, a milestone not seen at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2009. It said Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 seed and world No. 2, had already spent nine hours and 27 minutes on court and became the first No. 1 seed in the Open Era to play back-to-back five-set matches at the start of a Grand Slam after beating Quentin Halys in five sets. It also listed other notable results, including Alex Eala's 6-1, 6-4 win over Oleksandra Oliynykova, Flavio Cobolli's comeback over Tristan Schoolkate, Madison Keys' comeback over Anna Bondár, and Learner Tien's win over Gaël Monfils.