Many celebrities attended the 2025 U.S. Open such as Lindsay Lohan, Ben Stiller, and Simone Biles. Some Carrollton tennis fans criticized them for attending for the wrong reasons.
Collete Isaias ‘29, a tennis player, was irritated by the attention the celebrities received. “Honestly I think most celebrities just attended for the clout and brand deals rather than attending because they genuinely enjoyed the sport,” she said. When she attended the tournament, she made sure to pay more attention to the players rather than the celebrities.
One of the complaints of die-hard tennis fans was that many people who attended the U.S open only focused on celebrities instead of the matches. “When I went to the US Open, I didn’t really pay attention to the celebrities because it wasn’t what I paid to go watch,” said Isaias.
Some think that only people who make an effort to understand the sport should attend.“I think that the people attending should have a basic understanding of how the scoring, sets and the duration of the matches work,” said Martina Endere ‘29, a die hard tennis fan. However, Endere also acknowledged that celebrities who attend the matches bring a larger audience and crowd.
Coach Henry Salvat, a tennis coach who’s worked with professionals, says that having celebrities attend tournaments helps promote the sport and make it more interesting. “People enjoy watching their favorite celebrities support the players and sport versus the celebrities. “If you watch the match on a website that focuses more on celebrities, you will catch the celebrities getting more camera time than the players rather than if you watch it on a sports newscast, ” said Salvat.
As the U.S. Open continues to grow and attract more celebrities, the tension between tennis fans and celebrity fans remains. But, overall, Salvat is optimistic about the attendance of celebrities. “If celebrities are the reason someone discovers the game, then maybe that’s not a distraction, but an opportunity.”
