No ring lights, no midpoint selfies, no nuisance. Wimbledon won’t let anyone play fast and loose with tennis etiquette.

The All England Club has decided against accrediting content creators and influencers for the 2027 edition, Press Association has reported. It will also seize any items (like ring lights) that can hamper play. This comes after social media savants’ alleged disruption at the US Open sparked controversy and conversation.

Flushing Meadows is turning into “a bit of a zoo” per Adrian Mannarino. He flagged the free movement of people during points, among other things.

“The tournament puts up with it, and I don’t know if it’s the best thing for tennis in general. There’s a smell of marijuana on the court, noise everywhere,” the French veteran told reporters.

The issue became prominent during Naomi Osaka’s first-round match. She was serving to Anastasia Zakharova when a group brandished a ring light to click photos in their hospitality suite. Chair umpire Kader Nouni had to pause the match and admonish the crowd before resuming play. It was not the only interruption that evening.

Another group spoke loudly while recording themselves during the match. Nouni intervened again.

“Today, the umpire told everyone to be quiet more than I’ve ever heard an umpire tell a crowd to be quiet,” Osaka said. “…I think it bothered my opponent too.”

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The former World No.1 demanded more respect from audiences. “If you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport. It’s common courtesy to read up on the sport, especially the etiquette,” Osaka said. She had no issue with popularising tennis through influencer marketing, but felt the management could be a lot better, “especially in the situation like (my) first-round match”.

Coco Gauff had a similar perspective.

“It’s cool to have a new demographic and I definitely think it helps grow the sport. But if you’re being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn’t show up in jeans. I think it’s just ‘follow (sic) the etiquette of the sport’. That’s all.”

Fellow American Jessica Pegula said it was tough to see videos of people taking pictures and using the selfie lights mid-match. “People are down there trying to perform. It’s their career and their job. It seems a bit disrespectful.”

Not everyone is a critic of the disruptions, though. Frances Tiafoe had no problem with “anybody doing anything”, while watching the tennis.

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“All different walks of life, different types of people, different types of occupations. Personally, I love that.”

Daniil Medvedev, too, threw his weight behind the trend. “The more the sport grows, the better it is. I trust the USTA (United States Tennis Association) with what they are doing. I think (there is) a lot more upside than downside, so go for it.”

No problem

USTA, meanwhile, has stood by its decision to increase the number of invited influencers from 54 in 2025 to 100-odd this year. It has also downplayed the disruptions as “infrequent”.

USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre told the New York Post: “These instances happen infrequently, and similar to when crowd noise reaches a certain level, our chair umpires have the ability to address the crowd when they occur.”

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Before the tournament started, USTA chief executive Craig Tiley had expressed his desire to make the season’s last Grand Slam “the tennis Disneyland”. He spoke about a need to find ways of reaching new audiences, and of reaching people “in a way that they connect with media” today.

“The creation of the creator credential has been a key part of that because it’s enabled us to talk to people in a way that they’re listening. That’s been a big focus,” he reiterated.

While Wimbledon has held out for now, it might be a matter of time before the tradition-first grasscourt Major relents. The practice of inviting influencers cuts across sports and event scale, be it the recent badminton World Championships in Delhi or cricket and football World Cups.

Most contemporary players, including Gauff and Osaka, are leveraging social media heavily to augment their personal brands. It is the default for every celebrity and sports personality in the digital age. It’s only understandable that sports tournaments don’t want to be left behind.

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In fact, when Gauff was asked what she wanted the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to improve last year, she mentioned user-generated content — clips, highlight packages, memes and other media that players and fans make — in addition to the official content put out by the tours and broadcasters.

Influencers’ presence at Grand Slams, thus, is not an issue; their untimely actions are. The organisers may consider a refresher course, covering the sport’s basic dos and don’ts, before they land up at arenas. They should understand when it is okay to click photos, talk and move around, and when it absolutely is not. Because that’s just not tennis.