President Donald Trump received both cheers and boos Sunday at the U.S. Open men’s singles final in New York as several high-profile public critics joined him in the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Trump entered the stadium less than an hour before the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and was shown on the videoboard during the national anthem, prompting a mix of applause and audible disapproval from the crowd. Alcaraz ultimately won the match and claimed his second U.S. Open title.
Among those seated near the president were musician Bruce Springsteen, Olympic gold-medalist Lindsey Vonn, fashion executive Anna Wintour and NBA star Stephen Curry. All have been outspoken critics of Trump in recent years outside of their professional spheres.
Springsteen, who performed in Europe this year, called Trump and his administration "treasonous" during a June concert and urged fans to resist what he described as authoritarian tendencies. Vonn, who won Olympic gold in 2010, has repeatedly distanced herself from Trump-era politics, saying in 2017 she sought to represent "the people of the United States, not the president" and noting in January that she avoided following U.S. politics while competing abroad.
Wintour criticized the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and reportedly resisted featuring first lady Melania Trump on the cover of Vogue after her husband took office. Curry has sparred with Trump on social media and in interviews; in a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone he said much of Trump's rhetoric was divisive and did not belong in the country.
Trump was greeted with cheers as he arrived and took his seat for one of the sport’s marquee events in Flushing Meadows, Queens. The stadium’s reaction when the president appeared on the videoboard underscored how political figures can elicit mixed responses at public sporting events, where crowds often reflect a wide range of views.
The presence of celebrities who have criticized Trump did not appear to disrupt the match, which provided dramatic rallies and culminated in Alcaraz’s victory. The event drew attention both for the on-court competition and for the interactions between politics and popular culture in a high-profile public setting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.