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run New York restaurant and lifestyle account "The VIP List," claimed on Thursday that their US Open credentials had been revoked just two hours after posting the video.

However, in a statement to The Athletic on Friday, US Open head Brendan McIntyre said that 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 on their social media on Thursday, Radice and Jongens said that they are "diehard tennis fans" and called it their "dream" to be credentialed for the event. They even acknowledged the rash of stories about influencers at the tournament, but said that it did not apply to them.

"We were there to be respectful and follow the rules and have a good time," Jongens said.

"And it was taken away, just because we wanted to show how hot we looked in our credentials," Radice added.

The influencer issue has been widespread at this year's tournament, thanks in part to an increase in credentials being offered. 54 content creators were credentialed as media in 2025, but the 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 a stark contrast to the quiet stands at Wimbledon and Roland-Garros. However, things have appear to be worse this year: Naomi Osaka's first-round match had to be paused after multiple influencers filmed and did photoshoots during play, to the point that the chair umpire had to ask them to take a seat.

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 also asked about the issue on Thursday, echoed Osaka about etiquette, though she said that 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 their 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."