The U.S. Open has lengthy attracted business consideration as manufacturers search to capitalize on the star energy of tennis gamers like two-time champion Naomi Osaka or rising contender Ben Shelton. However with attendance steadily rising, new initiatives and activations are placing the main target not solely on the athletes, but additionally on the followers — whether or not they’re there for the tennis, or for the vibes.
A type of manufacturers placing the give attention to followers is Dove. In its inaugural yr as an official U.S. Open accomplice, the body-care model teamed up with influencer Estefania Pessoa — higher recognized by her moniker of Tefi — to announce to her 1.9 million TikTok followers and 400,000 Instagram followers the prospect to compete to behave as Dove’s “official underarm correspondent” throughout the U.S. Open. Out of greater than 100 submissions, Dove selected New Yorker Flora Manon to attend the Open throughout the third spherical of the singles championships, the place she’s going to create social content material for the model.
“There’s a tremendous group of followers that may not be such consultants within the recreation of tennis, however simply love the tradition. And it’s a very enjoyable area to be in,” mentioned Dana Paolucci, head of PR and affect for Dove. Based on Paolucci, the social media contest drove greater than 22,000 engagements, and Dove has handed out extra 100,000 mini deodorant samples at its on-site sales space at Flushing Meadows.
“Social media has actually helped individuals have extra entry [to tennis] and get extra excited, even when they’re not in a position to attend, by getting extra related to the gamers and their tales,” mentioned Paolucci of the game’s rising enchantment.
Different U.S. Open model companions embody tequila maker Dobel, which is tempting followers to the match with not simply cocktails but additionally the prospect at romance. The model partnered with the U.S. Open to create “Recreation, Set, Matchmaker,” a courting present hosted by determine skater and influencer Ilana Sedaka that pairs followers up on blind dates. The U.S. Open will air installments of the present on its YouTube channel all through the 2025 match.
These initiatives converse to a rising tennis fanbase that goes past those that observe the game, but additionally those that tune in for vogue and way of life content material surrounding the sphere. Figures like Morgan Riddle, girlfriend of the U.S. tennis star Taylor Fritz, and Paige Lorenze, who introduced her engagement to American participant Tommy Paul in July, have been distinguished faces in and across the match in recent times. That elevated consciousness helped the 2024 U.S. Open draw greater than 1 million attendees for the primary time within the match’s historical past.
The shift to audience-focused initiatives additionally comes at a time when the prices of partnering with skilled influencers have grown greater as full-time content material creators enhance their charges.
“This shift towards fan-focused activations largely stems from the model want to construct a loyal and excited neighborhood base,” mentioned Erin Ally, vp at influencer and creator company Bobbie. “Working with gamers is one entry level to seize consideration, but when it’s also possible to present up in a manner that permits followers to get a way of who you’re as a model firsthand and seems like a pure extension of an occasion they already take pleasure in, the extra memorable the model can be for them.”
For the 2025 match, the U.S. Open has additionally experimented with new methods to draw attendees, resembling by beefing up its Fan Week. The free week that opens the match every year is normally restricted to qualifying matches, however this yr included the Combined Doubles match for the primary time, bringing out stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu to the courtroom forward of the boys’s and ladies’s singles tournaments. The expanded format paid off: A record-breaking 239,307 visitors turned out for 2025’s Fan Week.
For some longtime followers, nevertheless, the elevated consideration on tennis comes with its downsides. Ticket costs have shot up for the U.S. Open from $69 for an entry-level ticket in 2015 to $169 for a grounds move in 2025. And a few attendees have bemoaned that the environment feels extra targeted on influencers than the game itself.
Some off-site occasions leaned into tennis’s trendy vibes over hardcore sports activities data. Kérastase and meme account Overheard hosted a Wednesday night cocktail occasion to advertise the hair-care model’s Gloss Absolu Glaze Drops and permit followers to observe the Open, in the event that they selected — cocktail napkins on the occasion learn, “It’s that point of yr once more the place I faux to care about sports activities.” Based on Kérastase, the 100-person occasion exceeded RSVPs inside 24 hours, and its U.S.-centered social content material from paid creators has generated 5 million views.
On-site at Flushing Meadows, many followers have turned out for the food and drinks choices as a lot because the matches. The 2024 U.S. Open offered greater than half 1,000,000 of the well-known Gray Goose-sponsored Honeydeuce cocktail, which fits for $23 a pop and has turn into near-mandatory Instagram and TikTok fodder for match attendees.
And those that can’t get to Flushing can nonetheless get a chunk of the U.S. Open: Would-be followers can get a Honeydeuce cocktail outdoors the match at areas like a Gray Goose Grand Central Terminal pop-up or at Decrease East Facet bar Ray’s. For some followers, that’s nearly as good as seeing the match itself.
