US Open says 2 influencers whose credentials were revoked were ‘improperly submitted’ as vendor staff
Amid the debate around influencers at the 2026 US Open, the tournament is pushing back on two influencers who say they lost access after posting their credentials in a video.
Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens, two influencers who run New York restaurant and lifestyle account “The VIP List,” claimed Thursday that their US Open credentials were revoked just two hours after they posted the video.
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However, in a statement to The Athletic on Friday, US Open head Brendan McIntyre said Radice and Jongens were incorrectly credentialed. McIntyre is also the managing director of the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) and the head of USA Tennis content and communications.
“These individuals were not credentialed as media or content creators,” McIntyre told The Athletic. “They were improperly submitted for credentials on a staff list provided by a food vendor.”
In a video posted Thursday on their social media, Radice and Jongens said they are “diehard tennis fans” and called it their “dream” to be credentialed for the event. They acknowledged the rash of stories about influencers at the tournament but said that did not apply to them.
“We were there to be respectful and follow the rules and have a good time,” Jongens said.
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“And it was taken away, just because we wanted to show how hot we looked in our credentials,” Radice added.
The influencer debate has been a prominent talking point at this year’s tournament, thanks in part to an increase in credentials being offered. Fifty-four content creators were credentialed as media in 2025. That number nearly doubled this year to around 100, per multiple reports.
Historically, the US Open has tended to be among the rowdier Grand Slams, with the tournament encouraging crowd noise in stark contrast to the quiet stands at Wimbledon and Roland-Garros. However, Naomi Osaka’s first-round match had to be paused after multiple influencers filmed and conducted photoshoots during play to the point that the chair umpire had to ask them to take a seat.
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Multiple players have weighed in on the issue, including Osaka, who told reporters on Thursday that she wanted people to “respect the sport,” even if they were new to it.
“I feel like it’s common courtesy to read up on the sport. Especially the etiquette. I feel like it could be a good thing for people to make the sport of tennis popular to their specific audience, but I think it has to be managed a lot better, especially in the situation like in my first-round match,” Osaka said. “Overall, I think there’s huge positives. … You want people to continue to grow the sport. I just think it has to be in a way that everyone knows the rules and the etiquette.”
Coco Gauff, who was asked about the issue on Thursday, echoed Osaka’s thoughts on etiquette, though she said she was “one of the more lenient” players about noise in the arena.
“I think it’s great to have a different demographic to the sport. I have no problem with influencers. I’ve met some of them and follow some of them online,” Gauff said. “It’s not just for the players but for the viewing experience, for those around. … I definitely think it’s cool to have a new demographic, and I definitely think it helps grow the sport. But like with anything, any venue you go to, like if you’re being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn’t show up in jeans.”
Earlier this week, Daniil Medvedev told reporters that there is “a lot more upside than downside” to influencers’ presence.
“The more we try to raise awareness about tennis, the better it is. The more popular the sport is. For sure there is some downside,” he said. “But in general, the more the sport grows the better it is. I trust USTA with what they’re doing.”