The U.S. Open men’s final on Sunday will not only feature two of the world’s top tennis players. It will also feature the presence of President Donald Trump and a controversial decision to shield him from the crowd.
Trump is set to attend the match as a guest of Rolex, a major sponsor of the tournament. But even before he arrived, the focus turned away from tennis and toward politics.
Reporter Ben Rothenberg wrote Saturday for his publication Bounces that the U.S. Tennis Association leadership sent an internal email to broadcasters. The message asked them to censor any possible protests or reactions to Trump during the event.
Rothenberg included key text from the letter: “With respect to Broadcast Coverage, the President will be shown on the World Feed and the Ashe Court Feed during the opening anthem ceremony. We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage.”
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The instruction sparked anger. Many saw it as an attempt to protect Trump’s image. Rothenberg explained, “The USTA’s plan to show Trump during the anthem, one of the noisiest and bombastic portions of Sunday’s events, is already an effective way to insulate Trump from likely booing. But the preemptive instructions outlined by the USTA in this email—asking broadcasters to censor and avoid any possible protest or negative crowd reaction to Trump for television audiences watching around the world—is further complicity in broadcasting Trump’s desired stagecraft for his first appearance at the U.S. Open in a decade.”
This concern is rooted in history. The last time Trump attended the U.S. Open championship was in September 2015, when he was still a candidate for president. He sat in The Trump Organization suite during a quarterfinal match between Venus and Serena Williams. When the cameras showed him, the crowd booed loudly.
Nearly 10 years later, Trump is making a return. But this time, the USTA seems determined not to let a similar scene play out on live television. They want the cameras to avoid showing the natural reaction of the audience.
Players, however, are trying to keep their focus on the game. Carlos Alcaraz, the 22 year old Spaniard, was asked about playing in front of Trump. He told reporters, “For me, playing in front of him—to be honest, I will try not to be focused, and I will try not to think about it. I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it. So, but I think, you know, attending the tennis match, I think it’s great for tennis to have the president into the final.”
The men’s final is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
