In a car on the way to Day 3 of the U.S. Open, Justin Morelli and his team were going through content ideas for the day.
asserted
Morelli → go → day
The creator and voice behind “The ShotClock”, who is a credentialed influencer for the hard court Grand Slam, had a rainy and muggy day ahead of him in Queens that presented some challenges.
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that → have → challenges
They had previously planned six days worth of content ideas for their allotted days and have learned a great deal since their first US Open as a brand a year ago.
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They → plan → brand
“Improvising is important, especially when you’re doing IRL stuff,” Morelli told The Post.
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Morelli → improvise → Post
Throughout the first week of the tournament, The Post followed two credentialed content creators to discover the tennis spectacle from their point of view as the US Open has leaned more into the influencer space to grow the game.
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Open → follow → game
The tournament credentialed about 100 influencers this year — nearly doubling the 54 from 2025.
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tournament → credentiale → 2025
Influencers have been a hot topic this year as hardcore tennis fans hit a breaking point and called out creators when they interrupted matches by recording content during play — ring lights and all.
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they → hit → play
The USTA told The Post that the profiled incidents are not linked to the official U.S. Open creator credential holders and steps have been taken around the grounds and in the stadiums to educate new fans on tennis protocols to reduce disruptions.
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steps → tell → disruptions
Morelli and his producer, Nicholas Costello, and videographer Juliana Fromigia decided to take advantage of the merchandise stores around the grounds as several tennis matches were suspended due to bad weather.
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matches → decide → weather
The team put together an idea of a challenge — “Who can spend the least on the best fit in the fastest time?”
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Who → put → time
Morelli and Costello each had 10 minutes to run to the stores to piece together the best outfit possible while staying under $200.
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Morelli → have → 200
As the sun started to come out afterwards, they asked several fans in short interviews for their ranking from 1 to 10 to determine who had the best outfit.
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who → start → outfit
“We plan it out.
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We → plan → it
But you have to be able to adjust…” said Morelli, who is a New York sports fan based in the city.
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who → have → city
“Maybe the one thing you thought was going to be great doesn’t work.
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you → think → ?
And then you have to be like, ‘Alright, scrap that.
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you → have → that
We don’t need to go further with that.
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We → need → that
Alyssa La Spisa, a lifestyle influencer, was adapting on the fly as well on Day 5 of the US Open.
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Spisa → adapt → Open
The creator and host of “Where Hot Guys Eat IRL” and “The Perfect Order”
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Guys → eat → ?
At the U.S. Open, everything is “up to chance,” she described.
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she → describe → chance
La Spisa, who holds 87,400 followers on Instagram and nearly 48,000 on TikTok, had her videographer Kelly Garcia walk around to find stylish tennis fans to interview around 11 a.m. to start their day.
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Garcia → hold → day
Rejection was seen and felt here and there, and at times switching location could be the key.
uncertain
switching → see → location
“It’s a little bit of waiting, trying to find the right person,” she said.
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she → ’ → person
I think today there is a good crowd.”
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I → think → ?
Eventually, La Spisa logged several interviews where she asked about favorite food and drinks at the Grand Slam event and what NYC restaurant they would like to take a famous tennis player to — as she is based in New York.
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she → log → York
La Spisa and Morelli’s content is driven by what happens throughout the day.
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what → drive → day
If one interview sticks out, that could be the focus.
uncertain
that → stick → ?
“I don’t even know what we are doing right now is going to work,” Morelli admitted during the outfit contest.
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Morelli → know → contest
“This is something we thought about in the car because it was raining….I’m big on just trying different ideas.
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it → think → ideas
If it doesn’t work then we’ll scrap it or who cares, we’ll post it and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work…
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it → work → it
.If it does really well, then alright, let’s double down on it.
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it → do → it
The USTA invites creators to be credentialed and are vetted prior to acceptance into the program.
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USTA → invite → program
It’s not a paid gig and the organization doesn’t guarantee content, but the access is at their disposal to post what speaks to them.
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what → ’ → them
For La Spisa, that is centered around food.
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that → center → food
During fan week, she was invited to a food and beverage preview where she had the chance to interview four chefs and taste all the US Open food.
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she → invite → food
She also was invited by Moët to their suite for the Roger Federer-Andy Roddick match where she produced content around their new drink “Moët Serve”, which she said is “very refreshing.”
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she → invite → drink
“That actually helped a lot,” La Spisa told The Post of the invites.
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Spisa → help → invites
“Otherwise, I would be running around, doing a bit more of that here but got such great content with that.”
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I → run → that
By early afternoon, La Spisa was ordering the COQODAQ caviar chicken nuggets, also known as “The Golden Set”, along with Steph’s cookie for lunch.
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Spisa → order → lunch
She and Garcia filmed a video putting all the toppings on the hot and ready-to-eat nuggets and of La Spisa taking a bite for both while adjusting for angles and lighting as needed.
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Spisa → film → angles
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
