Tennis fans weren’t too thrilled about President Donald Trump’s attendance at the U.S. Open.
Trump was greeted with boos as he stepped out from the suite of luxury watchmaker Rolex Sunday at the Arthur Ashe stadium in New York’s Flushing Meadows.
The president’s attendance—with his inner circle in tow—forced organizers to delay the highly anticipated men’s finals match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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“As a result of the security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats, we have pushed the start time of today’s match to 2:30 pm ET,” the U.S. Open said.
The crowd erupted into cheers and jeers as Trump waved at them next to Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour. He returned swiftly to his suite out of view following the reaction.
Trump was joined by son-in-law Jared Kushner and granddaughter Arabella, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The stadium was sparsely populated even as the national anthem began to play, with hundreds of fans eager to get to their thousand-dollar seats left waiting in long security lines.
The crowd broke out in an uproar when the Jumbotron panned to Trump saluting during the anthem.
MAGAworld, however, chose to focus on the positives. Right-wing influencer Bo Loudon wrote in an X post that “tens of thousands just gave President Trump a POWERFUL, ROARING standing ovation” as he entered the stadium.
A White House X account was also quick to shut down reports of Trump getting booed.
“All these Fake News Losers do is lie because their pea-sized brains have been irreversibly destroyed by TDS,” it said, referring to the made-up illness dubbed by conservatives as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The United States Tennis Association earlier asked broadcasters to avoid airing coverage of Trump’s appearance at the tournament.
“We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage,” it said in an email obtained by tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.
Trump’s last appearance at the U.S. Open might be to blame for the request. When Trump attended the tournament in 2015 as the frontrunner for the Republican nominee, he was also welcomed by a chorus of boos.
It’s not just tennis fans, either. Trump also received an icy reception from the crowd at the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey in July.
