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.
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.
No matter. 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.
“Improvising is important, especially when you’re doing IRL stuff,” Morelli told The Post.
This is the morning of an influencer at the US Open.
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.
The tournament credentialed about 100 influencers this year — nearly doubling the 54 from 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. 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.
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. The team put together an idea of a challenge — “Who can spend the least on the best fit in the fastest time?”
Morelli and Costello each had 10 minutes to run to the stores to piece together the best outfit possible while staying under $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.
“We plan it out. But you have to be able to adjust…” said Morelli, who is a New York sports fan based in the city. “Maybe the one thing you thought was going to be great doesn’t work. And then you have to be like, ‘Alright, scrap that. We don’t need to go further with that. But this is a great idea.’”
Alyssa La Spisa, a lifestyle influencer, was adapting on the fly as well on Day 5 of the US Open.
The creator and host of “Where Hot Guys Eat IRL” and “The Perfect Order” typically schedules interviews with a specific guest for her segments. At the U.S. Open, everything is “up to chance,” she described.
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. Rejection was seen and felt here and there, and at times switching location could be the key.
“It’s a little bit of waiting, trying to find the right person,” she said. “We were here on Sunday and it was a little tough at first. I think today there is a good crowd.”
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.
Much of the daily experience for influencers is trial and error. La Spisa and Morelli’s content is driven by what happens throughout the day. If one interview sticks out, that could be the focus. On the other hand, it could be a mash-up of interviews and content.
“I don’t even know what we are doing right now is going to work,” Morelli admitted during the outfit contest. “This is something we thought about in the car because it was raining….I’m big on just trying different 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….If it does really well, then alright, let’s double down on it.”
The USTA invites creators to be credentialed and are vetted prior to acceptance into the 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.
For La Spisa, that is centered around 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. 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.”
“That actually helped a lot,” La Spisa told The Post of the invites. “Otherwise, I would be running around, doing a bit more of that here but got such great content with 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. 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.
The cookie by the restaurant’s pastry chef, Stephanie Prida, remains the “most underrated” US Open food item for La Spisa.
As for Morelli, who has 281,000 followers on “The ShotClock” Instagram account and 123,800 on TikTok and 55,400 YouTube subscribers, he was in the food court by 3 p.m. to try a Salt Hank’s sandwich.
He and Costello ranked it out of 10 in a food review video. He could “see the hype” but was “not rocking with” the fries as Morelli didn’t feel it was enough to call it a side.
Afterwards, his team headed to the practice courts and ran into tennis pro Elijah Poritzky, who is a part-time hitting partner. Morelli interviewed him, finding out he has hit with Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Naomi Osaka among many others, and is a valued lefty on the tour for players to practice against including Carlos Alcaraz ahead of facing Ben Shelton in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
By 4:30 p.m., an intro video and day recap video were shot on the US Open blue carpet outside Arthur Ashe, and Honey Deuces were ordered before shooting some tennis content at the Grandstand.
All the content captured in a full day, ending around 5 or 6 p.m. if not attending a night match, is in an effort to disrupt the market for Morelli and La Spisa as they build their individual brands.
Evergreen content will be posted at least by the end of the tournament, while food and merchandise content was posted earlier due to relevance and interest.
“It might not work every time. But we want to do something that’s gonna have a chance to get people copying us instead of us copying them,” Morelli said.
This year, La Spisa thought the chef interviews made her content “a bit stronger” than in 2025. It also performed better and she was “happier” with it.
La Spisa and Morelli, who both commented on the backlash influencers received at the U.S. Open, are scheduled to visit six days each out of what has turned into a three-week tournament. Outside of wandering the grounds, both plan to differentiate their content by doing a day inside Arthur Ashe for a match or returning at night for a different energy in the crowd.
The two greatly value the access given to them throughout the tournament for a chance to grow their following and the sport in an environment outside of their usual content.
La Spisa was interested in covering the tournament last year before she was invited, but she didn’t know what she would be allowed to do on her own on the grounds. The program has given her access she is sure she “wouldn’t be able to have.”
Tennis was Morell’s “first love” as he started to play at the age of 3 before going on to play in the NYJTL Mayor Dinkins Cup (formerly the Mayor’s Cup) in high school at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
He pitched himself and his brand to the Grand Slam a year ago when he carried a fan base of 60,000.
The chance to cover the tournament again meant “something special,” Morelli said.
