Royal Marine commandos providing security at Wimbledon would like “nothing more than to sort out” disruptive social media influencers at the prestigious tournament, its chief executive has joked.
US Open organisers accredited 100 influencers and content creators for this year’s tournament.
But when a match involving two-time champion Naomi Osaka was disrupted by a group of influencers conducting a photo shoot, it prompted a debate about tennis etiquette.
Richard Atkinson, interim chief executive at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, said Wimbledon did not offer accreditation to influencers and sources have indicated to BBC Sport that is unlikely to change in the near future.
While Atkinson acknowledged that influencers were a “crucial part of the marketing mix” and to ban them from attending the tournament entirely would be “nonsense”, he said any that were brought in by brands would be “tightly chaperoned”.
He also backed the traditional “self-policing” ethos at SW19, whereby fans respect the action.
After the disruption at the US Open, world number four Coco Gauff said it was important to welcome a “new demographic” to the sport, but said: “I think it’s just, follow the etiquette of the sport. That’s all.”
And Wimbledon’s boss made it clear he does not expect to see a repeat at the All England Club.
“We don’t have a category of accredited people called influencers,” Atkinson told a panel at Leaders Week London.
“That said, clearly influencers are a crucial part of building your brand around the world in the third decade of the 21st century.
“What you have to do is keep them under control. One of our big partners, Polo Ralph Lauren, will have their influencer, but they are all tightly chaperoned.”
He said the atmosphere at the US Open is “very New York City”, adding: “It’s dead easy for someone who has just bought a ticket to show up there with their ring lights and literally start broadcasting in the middle of a match.
“If you tried to do that at Wimbledon, I think you’d probably have some Royal Marine Commando…”
He then joked: “We do have military. And they would like nothing more, I suspect, than to sort out some influencer.”
Fans will also not be allowed to bring portable ring lights – a piece of equipment used by content creators – to SW19.
Atkinson did, however, point out that the media landscape has changed, and suggested there is a place for embracing influencers and content creators to ensure Wimbledon remains relevant.
“It’s just a crucial bit of the marketing mix, of course it is,” he said.
“We’re not in the world of newspapers and television anymore, right? The world has changed. But it’s just really important, it’s a bit of a cliched expression, you’ve got to sort it out in a Wimbledon way. But to say “we’re not going to have any influencers at Wimbledon”, it’s obviously nonsense.”
“Our marketing team work meticulously to make sure they are working in a way that is consistent with our Wimbledon brand and keeps that magic that I was referring to earlier.”
