Back in 2023, Coco Gauff found herself caught in the middle when climate protesters disrupted her US Open semifinal. She supported what they were fighting for, but made it clear she did not support their protest interrupting her match. Three years later, Gauff is taking a similar stance on the influencer debate in New York.
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“I think it’s great to have a different demographic to the sport. I have no problem with influencers. I’ve 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,” Gauff said in her press conference.
She has no issue with content creators being part of tennis, but when their behavior starts interfering with matches, that is where she draws the line.
“Any venue you come to, you have to follow the etiquette towards it. I definitely think no flash photography. Try not to talk too loud. Ashe is a very loud court, so I’m used to it. Definitely not, like, mouthing TikToks and stuff in the middle of a point. It’s not just for the players, but for the viewing experience, for those around.”
Notably, Gauff had shared her thoughts on influencers after they caused a disruption during Naomi Osaka’s first-round clash with Anastasia Zakharova.
The chair umpire had to pause the match after a group of influencers began full-blown photo sessions with ring lights while play was underway. Security was eventually sent to the corporate suites to get the group seated and stop further distractions.
In fact, Osaka had no problem acknowledging that influencers can bring fresh eyes to tennis. But after battling past Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 to reach the third round, the four-time Grand Slam champion made it clear that promoting the sport should never come at the cost of disrupting the players.
“Obviously, if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport,” Osaka said.
“I feel like it could be a good thing for people to make the sport of tennis popular to their specific audience, but I think it has to be managed a lot better, especially in a situation like my first-round match.”
And it wasn’t just the first-round incident that caught Osaka’s attention. During her second-round match, she noticed the noise coming from the stands, with the chair umpire repeatedly having to remind spectators to keep things down.
“I normally just focus on the match and the court, but there was a moment where there were people shouting and stuff, and you could hear it quite clearly,” Osaka said. “I think it bothered my opponent, too.”
Since the disruption during Osaka’s opening-round match, tournament officials have also stepped up reminders around the grounds. Screens have been displaying messages asking spectators to “refrain from any activity that could disrupt the game, including noise levels, flash photography and ring lights”.
The incident only added to the USTA’s problems, with fans already angry over expanded influencer access and soaring ticket and ground-pass prices.
Nonetheless, the frustration only grew when the tournament decided to double the number of influencers at Flushing Meadows. What started with 54 influencers soon jumped to more than 100, adding even more fuel to the debate around their presence at the US Open.
However, Gauff and Osaka have not been the only players to have given their opinion on the debate, with Daniil Medvedev and Jessica Pegula also sharing their views. While both welcomed the introduction of influencers in the sport, Pegula was more categorical in calling the content creators’ on-court behavior ‘disrespectful’, whereas Medvedev had a more casual outlook. He believed warnings were enough to educate the people in question about on-court etiquette.
And the criticism is not exactly new. Back in April 2025, Daria Saville had already taken aim at tennis marketing for giving more attention to fashion and lifestyle influencers, along with players’ WAGs, than to the “actual, sweaty tennis players” grinding on tour.
Her problem was obvious. Tennis was chasing influencer clout while the players doing the actual work were being treated like background props.
For Gauff, the American handled the off-court questions with the same maturity she brought to her on-court challenges.
Coco Gauff Gets Past Her Tough Second Round Challenge With Her Matured Mentality
Having started her US Open campaign with a dominant win against Zeynep Sonmez in the first round, the home favorite faced a tougher challenge when she faced Paula Badosa in the second round. The Spaniard had a 5-3 head-to-head record against the American, but Gauff started well, winning the first set.
Despite having a 4-2 lead in the second set and an opportunity to serve the match out at 6-5, Gauff could not seize the moment, as Badosa broke her twice to take it to a tiebreak. The Spaniard even saved a match point in the tiebreaker, but the second match point proved to be decisive for Gauff to close out the match.
More than her aggressive style of tennis, which featured 18 net approaches in two sets, Gauff’s mentality was key in the contest, as she was vulnerable to cracking under pressure in such situations, especially on her serve. However, on this occasion, the American remained solid behind her serve, winning 64 percent of the service points in the match.
Gauff is all set to take on Cristina Bucsa in the next round, with a potential box-office clash against Alexandra Eala waiting for the American in the fourth round.