US Open 2024: Amplifying Fan & Brand Engagement

Published 06 September 2024

Author

Chelsie Hares

4 min read

Amid surging consumer interest and brand activity (the number of brands advertising around tennis events has risen by 40% in the last year – CNN, 2024), the US Open (August 19 – September 9) is proving fertile ground for fan engagement. Notable activations include Zalpha-friendly gaming zones and brand-hosted ‘pro versus amateur’ matches, while commentary has received an AI upgrade.

Tennis is experiencing a major resurgence. Participation – boosted during Covid as one of the only sports playable while maintaining social distancing – is continuing to rise. US involvement increased by 33% from 2020 to 2023 (Forbes, 2023), with 7.7% of the population now playing (USTA, 2024). The sport’s sociocultural cachet has also risen, exemplified by TikTok’s ‘tenniscore’ trend (see Sports Illustrated in Gen Z Style IRL: 24/25), and boosted by buzzy April 2024 movie release Challengers, famed for its steamy, fashion-centric take on the game.

Rising participation and cultural prestige has contributed to an estimated +37% increase in US Open attendance during the first week alone compared to 2023 (US Open, 2024). Notable activations at the 2024 tournament include:

Court-Adjacent Gaming Zones: Seeking to engage younger, gaming-savvy audiences (globally, 11% of 18- to 34-year-olds follow tennis compared to 21% of over-55s – Statista, 2023), the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is expanding its in-person offering with a 13-station gaming zone called the Advantage Arena.

Launched during Fan Week (August 19-25) – when attendees can view the US Open stadiums and observe players during training – the dedicated space allows players to compete against both in-person and virtual opponents. Games include Tennis Storm (a two-player Fortnite tennis mini-game) and TopSpin 2k25 (a tennis simulator game where players compete in a virtual replica of the Arthur Ashe stadium).

USTA is also reprising its 2023 Roblox Champions of the Court activation (with treasure hunts, obstacle courses and a photo quest mini-game) in partnership with Ralph Lauren’s sporting sub-brand, Polo Ralph Lauren, where players can win real-life merchandise from the brand. The game has attracted over five million visits (Roblox, 2024) from Roblox’s primarily Gen Zalpha audience (58% are 16 or under – Statista, 2023) since launching in 2023.

US Open Gaming Zone

USTA x Roblox Champions of the Court

US Open Gaming Zone

USTA x Roblox Champions of the Court

IBM WatsonX’s AI-Enhanced Commentary: As detailed in Sportstainment: The Future of Sports Fan Experiences, American tech giant IBM’s WatsonX AI platform is steadily upgrading sports commentary and media with real-time AI summaries and contextual insights.

Accessible via USTA’s official US Open app or website, IBM’s WatsonX provides real-time scores and match statistics alongside ‘likelihood to win’ odds (based on players’ previous performances) and post-match summary articles (generated by AI and then reviewed by USTA’s editorial team). Notably, WatsonX AI is also being used to provide voice and subtitle commentary during live matches.

Earlier this year, IBM partnered with British tennis tournament Wimbledon to create AI-generated post-game highlight reels and summaries based on fans’ player preferences using WatsonX AI. See Supercharged Sportstainment in Pop Culture & Media Futures 24/25 for more.

IBM WatsonX x US Open

On Pivots to Tennis Fandom: Best known for its performance running gear, Swiss brand On homed in on tennis’s rising fandom for the US Open 2024 with a timely tennis-themed ‘Clubhouse Night’ in New York on August 21. The ticketed event was open to the public.

Reflecting tennis’s rising sociocultural, fashion and lifestyle cachet, the one-day event comprised tennis matches where professional players (American Ben Shelton and Italian Flavio Cobolli) competed against amateur players and influencers (including US tennis enthusiast Sam Morrison and New York writer and stylist Michelle Li, who has styled American tennis star Coco Gauff).

Matches were commentated by Chris Black and Jason Stewart, hosts of popular US podcast How Long Gone, known for its snarky take on cultural ephemera. The space was then transformed from court to club with live DJ sets from Yaeji, Young Teesh and Oscar Nñ.

On Clubhouse Night