Two New York-based content creators have claimed they were thrown out of the US Open and had their credentials revoked just hours after posting pictures of their passes online.Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens, who run the social media account The VIP List, said they had been given access through a restaurant partnership and were enjoying a steak dinner and Honey Deuces before heading to the courts. Then, they say, their US Open credentials suddenly stopped working.The tournament, however, has offered a rather different explanation for why they were removed.
Influencers say their credentials were suddenly taken away
Radice and Jongens told TMZ that they had attended the US Open for the previous three years and considered themselves “diehard” tennis fans.They said they had planned their outfits and cancelled other plans so they could spend the two weeks creating content at the tournament, describing the opportunity as a dream.The pair had received their credentials through a partnership with one of their favourite restaurants at the Open. While at dinner, they posted pictures of the passes on their Instagram Stories.Radice said they had not yet even reached the court when they were told they could no longer use them.“We post our credentials on our story. We go to our favorite restaurant. Have a nice steak dinner. We’re downing Honey Deuces. We’re having a great time, haven’t even made it to court yet,” she told TMZ.Jongens said: “Within two hours of us leaving, we were told we could no longer use our credentials. We were heartbroken and we still are.”The influencers insisted they had not realised posting the credentials online could cause a problem.“We were there to be respectful and follow the rules and just have a good time and show content to our followers about how amazing the US Open is,” Jongens said.Radice added: “We were like, what do you mean? We had our credentials just stripped away within two hours before we even get to see a match. How does this happen?”“It was taken away like that. Just because we wanted to show how hot we looked in our credentials,” she said.They even appealed directly to the USTA to let them return.“We don’t even need an apology, we just want to go back,” they said.
USTA says they were credentialed incorrectly
The USTA, however, disputed the explanation that the influencers were removed because they posted their credentials.Brendan McIntyre, the USTA’s managing director and head of US Open, professional tennis and USA Tennis content and communications, told The Athletic that the pair had not been credentialed as media or content creators in the first place.“These individuals were not credentialed as media or content creators,” McIntyre said. “They were improperly submitted for credentials on a staff list provided by a food vendor.”The dispute comes as the number of influencers at this year’s tournament has risen sharply, with the USTA credentialing around 100 content creators.That increased presence has already caused frustration among some traditional tennis fans, particularly when photographs, conversations and movement continue while matches are taking place.Earlier in the week, Naomi Osaka was forced to wait during a match while a chair umpire addressed guests in a hospitality suite.“Guys, please, in the suite behind me, please thank you guys, please take your seat,” the umpire told the crowd.Footage later circulated showing members of the group posing during live play, with what appeared to be a portable light being used for photographs. Another spectator was also filmed posing in front of the court with a portable light.McIntyre told the Daily Mail that the tournament does not want content creation to interfere with the tennis.“We want our fans and guests to have an incredible time when they attend the US Open, but we also need to ensure that does not interfere with the action and competition on the court,” he said.“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.”So while Radice and Jongens believe they lost their passes after showing them off online, the USTA says the real issue was how those credentials were obtained in the first place. Either way, their planned two weeks at Flushing Meadows turned out to be considerably shorter than expected.
