Influencer Morgan Riddle reacted to the US Open seemingly being overrun more than ever by content creators and their cameras.
“I don’t think that’s isolated to the Open, necessarily,” Riddle, 29, exclusively told Us via her partnership with 7UP. “I think that’s just the state of the world in general right now … I don’t think it’s just a monoculture happening around the US Open. I just think that’s sort of the zeitgeist right now. People do things for social media.”
The 2026 US Open, which started on Sunday, August 30, approved credentials for “close to 100” content creators, more than doubling last year’s total, according to a report by Front Office Sports last month.
Umpires have already been forced to issue multiple warnings to fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest venue on the US Open grounds, about staging photo shoots during play.
Riddle, who split from American tennis star Taylor Fritz after six years together in April, said the issue isn’t “isolated only to influencers.”
“Obviously people love to bag on influencers for doing that, but every single person who goes to the Open is going to take photos and take content, except maybe the older, die-hard, OG tennis fans,” she argued. “So yes, people do want to blame influencers, but I do think a lot of people you see taking content around the grounds are just regular people.”
Riddle continued, “It extends into things like wedding content. People will pay like $10,000 for a photographer for their wedding to impress people from high school on Facebook. It’s just the state of the world.”
To combat the controversy, Riddle suggested there needs to be “better communication” when it comes to “general tennis etiquette.”
“I want to be empathetic about that, too, because there are so many people who are going to the US Open for the first time and they’ve never been to a tennis match before,” she said. “How are they supposed to know the rules?”
In coordination with the 2026 US Open, Riddle has partnered with 7UP to help launch 7UP Lime Lemon, a lime-forward reformulation of the original drink, with their Lululime campaign.
“I grew up drinking 7UP, as I’m sure many people did. My mom actually never let me drink pop growing up, except for 7UP,” the Minnesota native explained. “In past years, I feel like something that I’ve made a brand around tennis is doing fun, kitschy things, usually through my outfits.”
Riddle explained the Lululime campaign presented an opportunity to “cut through the noise of so many brands activating around the US Open.”
“I thought it was really fun,” she said. “I actually enjoy lime more than lemon, too. The drink is really good. I like the new flavor profile they developed.”
