Wimbledon chief jokes military would 'sort out' influencers

Richard Atkinson, interim chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, told a panel at Leaders Week London on 2026-10-09 that Royal Marine commandos would like to "sort out" disruptive social media influencers at Wimbledon and said he did not expect a repeat of the disruption seen at the US Open.

The remarks followed a recent US Open in which organisers accredited 100 influencers and a match involving two-time champion Naomi Osaka was interrupted by a group conducting a photo shoot, an incident that prompted debate about tennis etiquette. Sources have indicated to BBC Sport that Wimbledon does not offer influencer accreditation and that policy is unlikely to change in the near future, while the All England Club continues to rely on a traditional self-policing ethos at SW19.

Speaking on the panel, Atkinson set out the club's formal position on accreditation, saying: "We don't have a category of accredited people called influencers." He qualified that stance by acknowledging a role for those creators in modern promotion, adding: "That said, clearly influencers are a crucial part of building your brand around the world in the third decade of the 21st century."

On how the club would manage any creators who do attend, Atkinson said the priority was control and brand consistency: "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 also confirmed a specific ban on portable ring lights for fans at SW19.

Describing differences between the two Grand Slams, Atkinson characterised the US Open atmosphere as "very New York City" and warned of the ease with which spectators there can start broadcasting: "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." He added a comment about Wimbledon security and then said: "We do have military. And they would like nothing more, I suspect, than to sort out some influencer."

Players have reacted to the issue: world number four Coco Gauff said it was important to welcome a "new demographic" to the sport while urging appropriate behaviour, saying: "I think it's just, follow the etiquette of the sport. That's all."

Atkinson framed the wider challenge as one of modern marketing, noting changes in the media landscape and the need to incorporate new channels in a way consistent with Wimbledon tradition: "It's just a crucial bit of the marketing mix, of course it is. 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." He added: "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."

Atkinson made clear he does not expect the type of disruption seen at the US Open to be repeated at the All England Club, with organisers favouring tight oversight of any brand-affiliated creators and continuing to enforce rules such as the ban on portable ring lights for spectators.