President Donald Trump attended the US Open men's final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, where he was met with a mixed reaction from the crowd, including noticeable jeers and boos.
His arrival prompted enhanced security measures, which delayed the start of the match by 30 minutes. According to Newsweek, the increased security also caused entry delays for spectators attempting to access the venue.
“As a result of the security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats, we have pushed the start time of today’s match to 2:30 pm ET,” the US Open's official account posted on X.
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Accompanying POTUS were White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
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{{/usCountry}}Accompanying POTUS were White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
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There were reports that the US Tennis Association (USTA) instructed its broadcast partners not to show any booing or protests directed at the POTUS, in line with its standard policy against airing political demonstrations.
Prominent tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg published a piece titled, "US Open Orders Broadcasters to Censor Reactions to Trump."
An internal email from USTA leadership, obtained by Bounces, instructed US Open broadcasters to avoid airing any protests or audience reactions to Trump’s presence at the event.
The message included the following directive:
“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.”