The US Open officially kicks off today and when players on the schedule for day one pull up to site, they’re likely to be a little exhausted. The past week has included a calendar of events so bloated that even mere mortals—journalists and creators—have found themselves foggy headed, burned out, and longing for mid-September. But it’s affecting the athletes too, who have been shepherded around New York City and the tournament site by their various handlers to meet a growing list of sponsor obligations that include everything from events to TV spots. All while practicing for the last Grand Slam of the year.
“I was telling my coach in practice today that my body just felt slow, I could feel it in my reaction times, so we cut it short because I need rest,” Leylah Fernandez told me at a Lululemon dinner on Friday when I asked how she was juggling all the extracurricular activity with training. She wasn’t complaining—Fernandez is perpetually cheery, it seems—but most athletes have learned it’s best not to do so publicly.
Case in point, when I asked an agent friend if their athletes were feeling the effects of the non-stop socializing, they said yes but noted, “I don’t know that I necessarily want that message out there because, as crazy busy as it is, I need my athletes to not complain and understand it’s part of their job and do it all with a smile.”
Keep reading for what players and agents are saying about the increasingly chaotic week before the US Open—and why the brand frenzy may be reaching a breaking point.
