Influencers, content creators, taking centre court at Australian Open
27 January 2026
Marnie Vinell, writing for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):
Emily Wade, 28, says she is a genuine fan who is finding it personally frustrating to see the influx of influencers take up seats at marquee matches when others who would genuinely appreciate being there for the tennis are finding it increasingly inaccessible through overcrowding and higher ticket prices.
Ticket buying fans report waiting hours, in the heat, to watch the tennis matches, and claim social media influencers are being given priority access.
The Australian Open (AO) sells itself. As long as tennis fans know the world’s top players are going to be in Melbourne in January, they’ll show up and buy tickets.
No advertising required, let alone influencers.
But the show no longer seems to be about the fans, it’s about putting social media content creators with large followings, centre court. You no longer go to see games, you go for an experience. One which may not include a whole lot of actual tennis.
But it’s not all beer and skittles for the influencers however. They have to sing for their supper, or, presumably, risk not being invited back:
But one popular TikTok influencer, who talked to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said they were surprised at the level of pressure placed on influencers to be creating content by organisers.
“I think it was 20 posts [across the tournament] to even be allowed into the AO creator lounge,” they said. The creator lounge is a designated section within Tennis HQ, where creators can film, edit and work.
Influencers under pressure? I’d have thought they’d be the ones calling the shots, especially those with millions of followers. “If you want to me to show up to some tournament I have no real interest in, and promote it, we’re doing things my way.”
It sounds like influencers, even the established ones, don’t have a great deal of leverage after all.
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