A day in the life of US Open content creators as influencer controversy swirls
In a car on the way to Day 3 of the U.S.Open, Justin Morelli and his team were going through content ideas for the day. The creator and voice behind “The ShotClock”, who is a credentialed influencer for the hard court Grand Slam, had a rainy and muggy day ahead of him in Queens that presented some challenges. No matter.
They had previously planned six days worth of content ideas for their allotted days and have learned a great deal since their first US Open as a brand a year ago. “Improvising is important, especially when you’re doing IRL stuff,” Morelli told The Post. This is the morning of an influencer at the US Open.Throughout the first week of the tournament, The Post followed two credentialed content creators to discover the tennis spectacle from their point of view as the US Open has leaned more into the influencer space to grow the game.The tournament credentialed about 100 influencers this year — nearly doubling the 54 from 2025.Influencers have been a hot topic this year as hardcore tennis fans hit a breaking point and called out creators when they interrupted matches by recording content during play — ring lights and all.The USTA told The Post that the profiled incidents are not linked to the official U.S.
Open creator credential holders and steps have been taken around the grounds and in the stadiums to educate new fans on tennis protocols to reduce disruptions.Morelli and his producer, Nicholas Costello, and videographer Juliana Fromigia decided to take advantage of the merchandise stores around the grounds as several tennis matches were suspended due to bad weather.The team put together an idea of a challenge — “Who can spend the least on the best fit in the fastest time?”Morelli and Costello each had 10 minutes to run to the stores to piece together the best outfit possible while staying under $200.
As the sun started to come out afterwards, they asked several fans in short interviews for their ranking from 1 to 10 to determ...