Open

Reaction to Donald Trump‘s attendance at the U.S. Open Men’s Final on Sunday just stepped into Center Court.

A memo sent to the likes of ESPN and Sky Sports this afternoon from the United States Tennis Association asks “all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity.”

Whether censorship, a very heavy handed request for civility amidst political division, both or an unintentional shooting of their own foort, the USTA entreaty Saturday has had the immediate effect now of putting an added spotlight on Trump’s appearance at the prestigious match.

Shown on ABC, ESPN Unlimited and other platforms of the sports giant, the dramatic battle between Carlos Alcaraz (who won the U.S. Open title in 2022) and Jannik Sinner (who won Wimbledon two months ago) is set to start at 11 am PT/2 pm ET.

According to guidance from the White House, Trump will be in the stadium at that time. He is expected to be front and center on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s giant video screen during the national anthem. Unlikely to be talking tariffs by any measure, Trump is at the match as a guest of Rolex.

When contacted by Deadline, ESPN had no comment on the USTA correspondence. However, indications from insiders at the Disney outlet is that they will be concentrating their coverage on the tennis but not ignore Trump or his presence. That last part may be the wiggle room Disney, who paid then president-elect Trump over $15 million back in December to in a much derided move to settle his defamation suit against ABC News and anchor  George Stephanopoulos, occupies to turn the cameras on or off any jeers, banners or more that break out at Sunday’s match

For USTA, who have seen a constant stream of high profile attendees like Common, Walton Goggins, Hugh Jackman, Anna Wintour, Naomi Watts, the Great One Wayne Gretzky and the G.O.A.T. Billie Jean King, at this year’s U.S. Open, the attitude is this is all business as usual – just bigger. “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” USTA Managing Director, Head of Communications and Content Lisa Cradit told Deadline tonight.

Certainly, Trump showing up at other sporting events recently like July 13’s FIFA Club World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and February at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans resulted in a bellow of boos. In the latter case, which saw Taylor Swift booed too, there were cheers for the former Celebrity Apprentice host. The same couldn’t be said of the last time Trump showed up at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the U.S. Open in 2015 — then the boos far out blasted any positive response.

Will history repeat itself?

Well, there is some precedent of recurrence at the U.S. Open this year.

Having won in 2024, Aryna Sabalenka remains the U.S. Open’s women’s champion. The Belarusian player defeated  Amanda Anisimova in straight sets earlier today. Sabalenka was applauded and received a standing ovation for her hard fought second consecutive Ashe victory.