Donald Trump, the 79-year-old former president of the United States, is set to attend the men’s final at the US Open, featuring Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Trump’s scheduled appearance on Sunday in New York has increased security concerns at Flushing Meadows. Event organizers have gone a step further and demanded – of his appearance at least – specific action from broadcasters.
Last week, officials warned the deployment in an email to commercial broadcasters. Unsurprisingly, they asked broadcasters to refrain from showing any bad crowd reactions or protests while Trump is in attendance. “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showing any disruptions or reactions in response to the president’s attendance in any capacity,” the email stated. This method is an attempt at cutting backlash slack. Trump’s most recent visit to the US Open was in 2015, when audiences booed him heavily.
Speculation about Trump’s appearance this year comes in light of his controversial past with the tournament. He was a frequent visitor prior to his presidency, but has missed since 2015. His election as president in 2016 was a turning point in public perception of him, especially at sporting events.
Carlos Alcaraz, one of the finalists, shared his thoughts on Trump being there. Having a former president attend such an event, he observed, is good news for the sport.
“It is a privilege for the tournaments having the president from every country just to support the tournament, to support tennis, and to support the match.” – Carlos Alcaraz
Despite saying all the right things about keeping the spotlight on his performance, Alcaraz admitted to knowing that Trump’s presence will be momentous.
“For me, playing in front of him, I will try not to be focused on that, and I will try not to think about it. I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it, but I think, attending the tennis match, it’s great for tennis to have the president coming to the final.” – Carlos Alcaraz
Their meeting today is the third straight grand slam final meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz. For all of the focus on their potential head-to-head matchup, Trump’s return could change quite a lot. The increase in security underscores both the excitement and the possible backlash of his visit.