The Sports Advisors podcast is a biweekly roundtable discussion for decision-makers, hosted by their peers, analyzing the properties and topics that matter, and the lessons they provide to the broader industry. It is actionable intelligence from senior operators who have actually built, bought, sold, programmed, monetized, and scaled sports businesses.

In the latest episode, The Sports Advisors discuss the U.S. Open and offer up some free, unsolicited advice to new USTA CEO Craig Tiley.

The cast for the ninth episode in a row includes:

As always, you can connect with a member of the JohnWallStreet Advisory team by sending a note to [email protected]. In fact, we encourage it!

Key insights and takeaways from the 55-minute conversation include:

Screens Represent the USTA’s Most Scalable Growth Opportunity

New USTA CEO Craig Tiley is focused on diversifying tour revenues.

“Tiley described the fan experience as [consisting of] four S's: screens, seats, shade, and space.... That's interesting because it is [seemingly] an acknowledgement that the U.S. Open is 90% of [USTA] revenue,” Shah said. 

But that doesn’t simply mean selling more seats in other cities/at other tour stops. 

“What's the one thing that can actually grow beyond [the gate]? It's the screen. It's audience... The thing that [Tiley] really did [well] with Tennis Australia is they were good at programming and the continuity of content [generated]…. Tennis Channel here copies a lot of their innovation. I wrote about AI translation [in March of 2025]. Tennis Australia was one of the first to use AI to start changing their content into all the other languages. They were ahead of the curve…. That type of innovation could be really interesting, and will start broadening the fan base and addressing a lot of the issues that [exist in the USTA business] without disrupting what works.”

Player Access is the Next Premium Frontier

With an all-day festival format that already offers high-end F&B, premium retail and sponsor activations, it is not immediately clear how the U.S. Open can continue to enhance the fan experience and capture a greater share of wallet. However, the answer is seemingly associated with creating more exclusive opportunities for high-value fans to engage personally with the athletes.

“The premium experience is something [the USTA has] been working on and they're rolling out more courtside seats. They're doing what they can to deliver for the audience that is demanding it… Can they do concerts? Can they do other things to make it that next level of experience? They probably can,” Brody said. But “the best thing they can do for the fans is [provide more] access to the players. Getting [them] closer to their idols, to the ones that they want to touch and feel.... Get the players to be more accessible and give more specialty opportunities to fans [willing to pay for them]. That's a U.S. Open opportunity, but that's an opportunity throughout sports.”

Rights Owners Should Choose Partners That Elevate their Events

The U.S. Open has evolved into a cultural phenomenon that attracts avid tennis fans, casual attendees, celebrities and corporate buyers. Much can be learned from the tennis tentpole. But the part of its model most worth replicating is the role brand partners play in enriching the onsite experience and keeping fans on the grounds longer.

“80% of the fan experience is driven by the USTA. 20% of the fan experience, they rely heavily on their partners. Everything that Amex does, Chase does, Heineken; they [each] create another elevated experience. The dwell time is unparalleled to any other sporting event. People show up at the Amex lounge and never leave,” Kelly said. “So, as [other properties] look around, and it's a tough conversation, but [they might want to consider taking] less money potentially from one of [their] partners if [that company is] willing to [invest in] elevating the experience.”

Creators Provide Path to the General Market

The USTA accredited approximately 50 creators across fashion, food, lifestyle and entertainment for the 2025 U.S. Open. And the tournament averaged 1.1 million viewers across ESPN’s networks, its strongest performance in three years. The strategy may have contributed to that growth, but that is beside the point. The goal was to reach general-market consumers that would engage with the property, its players and partners.

“[Does that viewership increase mean the USTA has] made some new fans? [They] may well be on [the] road to doing that. And now the lifetime value of a converted fan is higher than ever,” Crakes said. “But the knock-on value, the real value to get that's untapped is [reaching the] general market who may never watch your event but will be involved through some other aspect [of it, like] all the lifestyle stuff. [That is] the reason why those wives and girlfriends are at the NFL training camp. [It] has nothing to do with women watching the NFL. It has everything to [do with getting] them engaged and tangentially attached to it. They’ll engage, [it] doesn't mean they're going to tune in at 1:05 East to watch the kickoff.”

📺 Watch the full episode on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Catch previous episodes of The Sports Advisors on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube channel, including discussions on the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s decision to stop funding LIV Golf, Vancouver Whitecaps FC potentially relocating to Las Vegas, the 2026 World Cup serving as a stress test for the modern sports business model, a sports betting reality check, challenger leagues as investments, premium sponsorship inventory, local sports media, making MLS major league and more.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe!

The next episode will be released on Wednesday, September 9.

On the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus, a college sports podcast powered by Playfly Sports, JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber sit down with University of Utah Director of Athletics Mark Harlan and Crimson Brand Partners CEO Matt Webb.

The four discuss how integrating campus and athletics creates an unmatched brand proposition, why reinvestment and flexibility must be prioritized when working with private equity, how local activation differentiates school-level patch partnerships, and much more.

📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page. 
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.