Wimbledon will not accredit influencers in 2027 after US Open disruptions

Wimbledon will not create a separate accreditation category for influencers at its 2027 tournament. The decision follows this year’s US Open, which gave passes to about 100 content creators and then had to police them. Yahoo Sports reported the All England Club position, and PR Daily and Tubefilter covered the fallout for brands.

The US Open gave passes to about 100 creators this year

The number nearly doubled in twelve months. The 2025 tournament accredited 54 creators. The 2026 edition accredited about 100, alongside the usual reporters and photographers. Each pass carries access to seats, corridors and player areas that ordinary ticket holders never reach.

An umpire stopped Naomi Osaka’s match over a noisy suite

The trouble showed up on court. During Naomi Osaka’s first-round match against Anastasia Zakharova, people filming in a suite made enough noise that the chair umpire halted play and told them to sit down. Videos from the event showed spectators using ring lights, the small circular lamps creators clip to a phone, while matches were running.

The tournament responded with more signs banning flash photography and ring lights. Osaka said afterwards that “if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport”. Coco Gauff welcomed new audiences but said creators and the brands working with them should learn tennis etiquette first.

Two influencers lost passes for posting photos of them

Access can be taken back quickly. Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens had their US Open credentials withdrawn after posting pictures of the passes online. A credential photo is easy to copy, which is why most events forbid it.

The NFL is going the other way and courting creators

Tennis is not the whole sport industry. Tubefilter reported that the NFL is still signing creator partnerships and running access programmes. So a brand planning creator work around sport now faces two different rulebooks in the same season.

Money keeps flowing towards creators regardless. Campbell’s puts 85 percent of its working media into social and creators, and sports properties keep selling visibility, as UEFA did with its referee sponsorship.

The practical step is dull but it works. Put behaviour in the contract, not in the brief. Say what a creator may film, where they may stand, and what happens to the fee if the venue pulls the pass. Budget a briefing before the event, because a lost credential costs the brand the content it paid for, and the apology lands on the brand rather than the creator.