With most of the play at the U.S. Open conducted under heavy sunlight, fighting through the heat and using the proper equipment to do so plays a huge role in determining winners and losers. The objects used for sun protection can also inadvertently affect the actual game play directly, such as in last year’s U.S. Open, when Italian player Fabio Fognini removed a line judge’s sunglasses in frustration, and was penalized a point for doing so.
At this year’s U.S. Open, another unique intersection between sunglasses and tennis will take place. Fans will be able to purchase for the first time at a professional sporting event the Snapchat Spectacles. The sunglasses developed by Snap, Inc. allow users to record videos from an optical vantage point with a simple push of a button and then post that video directly to one’s Snapchat story or elsewhere, all while providing significant UV protection.
Attendees will be able to purchase the Spectacles from an assortment of Snapbots — the Minion-like vending machines that are exclusively used to dispense glasses to buyers — littered throughout the facilities thanks to Snapchat’s partnership with the United States Tennis Association.
Users of the Spectacles — in addition to getting a defense from the harsh, late-summer New York City sun — will also be able to customize their Snapchat posts with a U.S. Open branded lens filter, a first on the platform.
“Our objective with this campaign is to encourage fans to organically share their U.S. Open experience,” USTA Chief Marketing Officer Amy Choyne said in a statement. “Spectacles give a one-of-a-kind vantage point because they capture your memories just the way you see them.”
To kick off the release, former U.S. Open doubles champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands was on board one of the helicopters tasked to deliver the Snapbot vending machines to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
@lizomakeup @esmithhair #INeedMoreHairspray 🤣 @ustaIt's a bird… It's a plane…
It's the @Snapchat Snapbot, on its way to the 2017 #USOpen #USOpenXSpectacles pic.twitter.com/Cg3puuCMW5
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 19, 2017
The Spectacles will be available for purchase on the U.S. Open grounds throughout the tournament, starting on Saturday for Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and ending on Sept. 10 for the men’s singles final.
“We strive to surprise and delight visitors to the US Open, while reshaping and enhancing the way fans can share their on-site experience,” USTA Director of Social Media & Strategy Qianna Smith-Bruneteau said in a statement. “Spectacles offers fans a new sense of discoverability of our grounds in a fresh content format.”