NEED TO KNOW
The U.S. Tennis Association has reportedly instructed broadcasters to treat Donald Trump’s U.S. Open appearance less like a sporting event and more like a curated state broadcast. An internal memo asked networks to cut away from any boos, chants, or protests that might erupt inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The official reasoning: preserving the “prestige” of the tournament. The unofficial reasoning: protecting the president from reality.
Trump was slated to appear during the national anthem, ensuring maximum pageantry and minimal time for dissent. Cameras were told to linger just long enough for applause to drown out early heckles. Production teams were warned against any “eng” shots of fans making hand gestures, holding signs, or mouthing phrases like “lock him up.” Instead, audiences watching at home would only see polite clapping and tasteful head nods.
Tennis Meets State TV
To international viewers, the broadcast will likely resemble the kind of programming usually reserved for authoritarian parades. Instead of airing unfiltered crowd reactions, producers were directed to focus on Trump’s suite, his handshakes, and possibly his Diet Coke refills. Commentators will stick to pre-cleared talking points that refer to him as a “guest of Rolex” and avoid acknowledging that tennis fans famously heckled him in previous years.
Attendees inside Ashe may chant, boo, or even stage walkouts, but none of that will reach viewers. The memo concluded that any “negative disruptions” were to be treated as “off-topic for coverage.” Ironically, this means the sport’s broadcasters now share more in common with North Korean news agencies than ESPN. As one staffer whispered, “We’re cutting tennis to protect a politician who hates tennis.”
Critics argue the censorship insults the intelligence of viewers and undermines the credibility of the event. Yet Trump himself called it “the fairest coverage I’ve ever gotten,” adding that the U.S. Open “finally looks classy, like a Mar-a-Lago brunch with rackets.”
It remains to be seen whether boos can be silenced in real time. Tennis may be polite, but Arthur Ashe Stadium holds nearly 24,000 people. Even with selective microphones, one sound may slip through: the unmistakable roar of an audience telling a politician to take his forehand somewhere else.
If nothing else, the entire ordeal confirms one thing: Trump can turn even tennis into reality television—only this time, the reality part is optional.
Sometimes the quiet part doesn’t need to be said out loud when the broadcast team deletes it for you
Darlene Hightower, Tennis Integrity Foundation
