What happens when political theatre, Hollywood gloss, and a Grand Slam final collide? The 2025 US Open men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was less a collision of sporting excellence it was something else. Played before a packed crowd of A-listers, sporting icons, and that rather polarising political leader, it had the vibe charged off the court as on.
In a town where celebrities are the norm, the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands were a roll call of showbusiness, politics, and style. There was Bruce Springsteen’s coffee-before-it-happens cool, Lindsay Lohan’s retro revival, and from the Curry family courtside double date to Donald Trump’s publicity-stunt entrance, the match was a photobooth of America’s overlapping circles of celebrity, sport, and politics.
Here is a closer examination of the biggest disputed moments and players of that one endless afternoon in Flushing Meadows.
1. Trump’s Self-Aggrandizing Entrance Halts Play
President Donald Trump’s flamboyant entrance with his MAGA group Karoline Leavitt, Pam Bondi, Jared Kushner, and Arabella Kushner included was anything but humble. Security protocols had held the game up 30 minutes, and when his head collided with the jumbotron during National Anthem time, the crowd erupted: a storm of cheers but an overwhelming number of boos. In blue New York, the optics were savage. Even the White House rapid response team took to Twitter to attack the media as biased, the scene reports say. Trump was not fazed, however, laughing with staff members and signing autographs for supporters.
2. Bruce Springsteen’s Courtside Cool
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, an outspoken Trump critic, wore a dashing gray suit jacket and black shades. Pictured alongside Pink, Sting, Mindy Kaling, and Ben Stiller, he exuded subtle celebrity authority. His appearance also carried the vibe of anticipation because Springsteen has a reputation for making political gestures, so his subtle enjoyment of the game was an implicit counterpoint to the showboating around the rest of the stadium.
3. Courteney Cox’s Tennis Weekend
Courteney Cox, the Friends alumna, featured the men’s final as her second straight day at the US Open after she battled back with Aryna Sabalenka to last day’s women’s final win. Tonsorially restrained, as always, Cox canvassed with other celebrities and even enjoyed a cordial courtside encounter with Bruce Springsteen a bauble return to her first star turn in his “Dancing in the Dark” music video.
4. Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak’s Low-Key Reunion
Long-time best friends and former co-stars on The Office, Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak made their couple a low-key reunion. Kaling’s black-framed glasses and sharp pinstripe top looked nice with Novak’s casual jacket-and-collar getup, projecting a low-key friendship that viewers of their on-screen romantic chemistry couldn’t help but envy.
Image Credit to Heute.at
5. Kevin Hart’s Back in the Limelight
Having made a splash with his over-the-top acrobatics last year at the Open, Kevin Hart came back this year this time with a peace sign to the camera. His boyish charm was a reminder that the US Open is as much about personality as it is tennis, and Hart’s ability to steal the show remains unrivaled.
6. The Curry Family’s Chic Date
Golden State Warriors shooting star Steph Curry and wife Ayesha added their own touch of style to the seats. Both open veterans themselves, the pair appeared relaxed yet assured, soaking up the match with ease but still drawing attention. Their courtside expedition served to heat up the tournament as a sports royalty attraction that also transcended tennis.
7. Lindsay Lohan’s Mean Girls Reunion
One of the day’s highlights was when Lindsay Lohan met up with Mean Girls co-star Tim Meadows. During pre-game warm-ups, Meadows bear-hugged Lohan’s husband, Bader Shammas, in a tender hug, relaying a déjà-vu-like type of thrill down through the ranks of pop culture. The nostalgia for the cult film’s staying power was brought back to fans’ minds.
8. Family Day Out of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt
Hollywood A-listers John Krasinski and Emily Blunt brought the finals to the family, showing up with daughters Violet and Hazel. That golden, everyman vibe just the perfect antidote to such a glamour-puss couple was just the opposite of the super-glam that was around them.
9. Jessica Alba’s New Romance Goes Public
Jessica Alba and Danny Ramirez, having begun their romance early on, made their US Open doubles debut as a team. Slouching together way up above the stands, they were discreet but couldn’t help sneaking underneath the cameras. Alba’s chic minimalism and Ramirez’s slack-thin look made them best-dressed couple of the day.
10. Anna Wintour’s Fourth Day at the Open
Fashion’s undisputed monarch, Anna Wintour, donned a blue overcoat, white sundress, and her signature bob and specs on her fourth day at Wimbledon. A two-for-one at Wimbledon and the US Open, repeat attendances reinforce the event’s function as a catwalk for court fashion.
11. Musical Connection Between Shaggy and Sting
Jamaican-American pop legend Shaggy and rock legend Sting sat shoulder to shoulder in a box with Pink, discussing between songs. Their friendly familiarity was a reminder that the Open is part as much a sporting occasion as a popular culture crossover of music legend in which legends rub shoulders unstoppably.
12. Sergio Pérez’s Pit Stop
Formula One car racing driver Sergio Pérez forfeited a day at the racing track to spend a day sitting with a sold-out audience. Spotted socializing with Tommy Hilfiger prior, sitting down, Pérez’s visit put an international touch to the already multicultural gathering of spectators at the event.
The 2025 US Open men’s final was more than a mere display of excellent tennis it was a vibrant mosaic of America’s cross-cultural meeting ground. Political intrigue, Tinseltown acting, sporting royalty and music icons all came together in one charged afternoon. To the crowd who sat in the stands and the others sitting in front of the TV sets, it was show the US Open is still all about the theatrics in the stands as it is about the excellence on the court.
