With Twitter, the US Open hit a winner on and off the court

If you’re a tennis fan, then you know that there’s nothing quite like the US Open. That unmistakable combination of high stakes tennis with a stadium filled with impassioned fans is the kind of live sports experience that can’t be found anywhere else. So when the US Open announced it would return without fans in the stands, the USTA knew it had to bring back the tournament with a twist. COVID-19 guidelines meant no fans could be in attendance. So how could the USTA bring fans from around the world to watch Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka make tennis history?

It turned to Twitter.

We spoke with Sloane Kelley (@SloaneKelley), former managing director, content & creative services at USTA, about the return of the US Open and how Twitter helped elevate its connection with tennis fans on Twitter.

Twitter: How did you keep tennis fans engaged during lockdown until the return of the US Open was announced?

Sloane Kelley: What we started doing right off the bat is we went back to old match footage that we have from very memorable US Opens in the past.

We called it #USOpenClassics and we did it weekly right up until the tournament started as we started thinking about gearing up for our event. We saw a really tremendous response from fans as we started airing. We actually found ways to encourage conversation among our fans and make it a Twitter-first experience for them. It became a conversational moment and a new viewing experience for them, which they definitely loved. I think it showed that people had been really hungry for sports.

Twitter: Twitter and the US Open make a great doubles team, don’t you think?

SK: Twitter has been an incredibly important part of how the US Open storyline gets out there to fans all over the world. It's certainly the case when sharing information about the tournament. It’s also about connecting with our fans. It’s important for us to be able to reach our fans, who are all over the world and hungry for the latest storylines.

It’s been fun to see all of the photos and videos that people are sharing that show how they are experiencing the US Open at home. We, in turn, have been incorporating it into a daily live show that we're airing called “The Warm-Up.” The really fun part of our show has been getting the view of how fans are interacting with the US Open from locations all over the globe.

We also use Twitter as a platform that can raise awareness about social justice issues. That's been an important topic for the US Open and certainly for a lot of the players who are in this year's tournament. Certainly, the players are sharing their thoughts and opinions on Twitter, but we're trying to put a spotlight on that and share our own perspective as well. Twitter has been a great way for us to help get that message out.

Twitter: How else does Twitter help you connect with your audience?

SK: We view Twitter as our place for real-time information and conversation. As something is happening, like an incredible moment on the court, Twitter is the first place that we go to with that content. It’s because we know that fans are consuming it in a very real-time fashion.

We know this brings tremendous value to our fans all over the world. We are also constantly updating the feed with things like visually appealing scorecard graphics or a funny GIF. We're trying to find a different mix of media to sort of appeal to a wide variety of people.

We know that the match updates and the video highlights are going to appeal to our core tennis fan. A lot of our other content showcases player personalities, which helps us reach a more casual sports fan. If we can pique their interest with something that's a little bit different from the technical tennis content and bring them into the fold, that's definitely one way that we can succeed on Twitter.

For instance, we've got players who, probably for the first time ever, are sitting in Arthur Ashe Stadium. They're watching their fellow players compete in the match and they might just be taking it in, or they might be enjoying a snack while they're doing it. And we’re capturing that video and we're sharing it on Twitter.

I think that's been a really interesting behind-the-scenes look for people to see how an event at this scale and players at this level are coming together in what's a really different situation within the controlled environment.

Twitter: Through Twitter Amplify, sponsors get the chance to connect their brands with your content. How’s that been working for you this year?

SK: Twitter Amplify has been an incredibly valuable sponsorable asset for us. I think it's such a turnkey way for our official partners to associate themselves with some of our most valuable content that we produce digitally like US Open highlights, which people are very hungry for. To be able to offer a sponsor the ability to have their message roll in front of that video that people are so eager to watch is an incredibly valuable asset. I know our partners have been very happy with it as well.

Twitter: The return of sports has been anything but normal. Where do you think we go from here?