Naomi Osaka used her recent second‑round victory over Katerina Siniakova as a platform to ask the growing crowd of social‑media personalities at the US Open to respect the traditional etiquette of tennis. The request follows a wave of criticism after Osaka's opening match against Anastasia Zakharova, where several influencers were captured on video ignoring the on‑court action, chatting, and even shouting while points were being played.
Those clips quickly went viral and sparked a debate about the role of non‑athlete content creators at major sporting events. After battling through a shaky middle set to defeat Siniakova 6‑2, 5‑7, 6‑1 and secure a place in the third round, Osaka addressed the issue in a candid interview. "If you attend a sporting event, you have to respect the sport," she said.
"It's basic courtesy to learn about the sport's rules and its etiquette before you show up." She added that influencers have the power to introduce tennis to new audiences, but that power comes with responsibility. "They can definitely help make tennis more popular with their followers, but they need to manage it better, especially in a setting like my first‑round match where the crowd was very loud," Osaka explained. "Overall there are huge positives – we want the sport to grow – but it has to happen in a way where everyone knows the rules and respects the traditions." Osaka recalled a specific moment from her opening match when the umpire raised his voice and asked the crowd to quiet down, a request she said was louder than any she had heard before.
"I usually just focus on the match and the court, but there were people shouting and it was audible. It seemed to distract my opponent as well," she noted. The second‑round match itself was less of a media circus for Osaka.
While her entrance attire was more subdued than the eye‑catching outfit she wore in the first round – a long white skirt and hooded robe printed with newspaper clippings about her – she still turned heads with a sleek, all‑white, shimmery dress that looked more at home at Wimbledon than at Flushing Meadows. The 13th seed started strongly, breaking Siniakova early in the first set and cruising to a 6‑2 win. The second set proved more competitive. Osaka built a 4‑2 lead, then extended it to 5‑3, but her serve faltered and she was broken three consecutive times, eventually losing the set 7‑5.
Demonstrating the resilience that has defined her career, Osaka regrouped in the deciding set, dropping only one game before sealing the match and moving on to the next round. The article also highlighted other notable performances at the tournament.
Iga Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion, breezed into the third round with a 6‑3, 6‑2 win over Argentina's Nadia Podoroska in just 71 minutes. This was only the second meeting between Swiatek and Podoroska, the first having taken place in the 2020 French Open semi‑finals, a match Swiatek won on her way to her first Grand Slam title.
Seeded eighth this year, Swiatek broke early in the first set and maintained control throughout, converting her first match point without looking under pressure. Madison Keys delivered a dramatic comeback against Anna Bondar, saving five match points before prevailing 5‑7, 6‑4, 7‑6 (10‑5). The 2017 US Open finalist, who later captured the 2025 Australian Open crown, hit an impressive 34 forehand winners and thanked the supportive home crowd after forcing Bondar into an error on match point. "That was something, huh?
No stress though – we all knew I had it, right?" Keys exclaimed to the audience. On the men's side, third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime suffered a surprising second‑round exit at the hands of unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov, becoming the highest‑seeded player eliminated from the tournament so far. Khachanov, a 2022 semi‑finalist, broke Auger‑Aliassime's serve seven times on Louis Armstrong Stadium and saved seven of nine break points, securing only his second top‑10 Grand Slam victory.
After a tightly contested first‑set tiebreak that Auger‑Aliassime edged, Khachanov surged ahead, winning the next two sets with relative ease. Taylor Fritz continued his dominant start to the US Open by dispatching Italy's Mattia Bellucci 6‑0, 6‑1, 6‑1, extending his unbeaten run without dropping a set. The ninth seed remains a leading contender in the quest to end a 23‑year drought for an American male Grand Slam singles champion. Osaka's broader message about etiquette resonates beyond the immediate controversy.
Tennis, with its long‑standing codes of conduct—quiet during points, respect for officials, and appropriate spectator behavior—relies on collective adherence to maintain the sport's integrity. As the tournament progresses, organizers and players alike are urging influencers and casual fans to balance their desire for content creation with the need to preserve the atmosphere that makes live tennis unique. The US Open continues to be broadcast live on Sky Sports from August 30, with streaming options available on NOW and the Sky Sports app.
Fans can also look forward to the Laver Cup at The O2 in London from September 25‑27, also covered by Sky Sports.