Wimbledon CEO Jokes Marines Would 'Sort Out' Influencers — SkimNews
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- Richard Atkinson, Wimbledon's interim CEO, joked that Royal Marine Commandos providing security at SW19 would 'like nothing more than to sort out some influencer' if disruptive content creators tried to broadcast mid-match
- Wimbledon does not offer accreditation to influencers and sources told BBC Sport that policy is unlikely to change in the near future, Atkinson said at Leaders Week London
- The US Open accredited 100 influencers and content creators this year, and a match involving two-time champion Naomi Osaka was disrupted by a group conducting a photo shoot, sparking a debate about tennis etiquette
- Atkinson said any influencers brought in by brand partners such as Polo Ralph Lauren will be 'tightly chaperoned,' and he backed Wimbledon's traditional 'self-policing' fan ethos
- Wimbledon fans will be barred from bringing portable ring lights — a staple of content creators — onto the grounds
- World number four Coco Gauff said welcoming a 'new demographic' to the sport is important, but influencers must 'follow the etiquette of the sport'
Why it matters: Wimbledon's three-pronged stance — no influencer accreditation, chaperoned brand-affiliated creators, and a ring-light ban — draws a hard line against the US Open's open-access model, protecting the All England Club's traditional atmosphere while still leveraging them for brand marketing through tightly controlled partner channels like Polo Ralph Lauren.
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