But in the stands, all eyes were on someone else.
From her perch in a club suite box, Morgan Riddle was magnetic.
Somewhere below, a Getty photographer snapped a photo.
Design by Channing Smith.
She was locked in, her expression not unlike that of an athlete when they make a big play.
Then she picked up her phone and headed back inside.
She wasnt at the game to relax.
Morgan Riddle, right, at the US Open in September 2024
She was there to work.
Riddle is not a tennis player.
She hosted an event with Fenty Beauty and spoke on a panel about the intersection offashionandtennis.
Morgan Riddle, right, at the US Open in September 2024
She did so because of her relationship.
She is tenniss most famous WAGthe acronym stands for wives and girlfriends of professional athletes.
As part ofGlamours WAG Week, some of your favorite WAGs answer frequently asked questions.
Shes even expanded into other sports, hosting events at Formula 1 this past summer.
In doing so, Riddle has made being a significant other to a tennis star into something new.
Shes made it into a career.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift after Super Bowl LVIII in 2024
Why are brands not jumping on this?
Welcome to WAG World.In 2024 the most influential figures in American sports arent the players.
They are the women by their sides.
In every sport popular among Americans today, WAGs are ever present.
Theyre going viral, building brands, and becoming famous.
Theyre raising not just their own profiles, but that of their athletes.
Theyre changing the face of American professional sports as we know it.
WAGs are not a monolith, they come in a variety of flavors.
Lets break them down.
Allison Kucharczyk and Isaac Rochell
Think of all the WAGs who have reached stratospheric levels of fame in just the past few years.
Brittany Mahomes and Kylie Kelce are household names.
Of course, theres the biggest example of all.
Chanen and Juwan Johnson
The fervor has also translated to ticket sales.
Her game-day outfits are anticipated with rapid fervor and then dissected with precision.
Cameras swing to her throughout the games, her reaction shots go viral.
Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush
And the NFL, for one, is thrilled.
In fact, it wasthe COVID-19 pandemicthat had the most impact on creating WAG World as it is today.
Allison Kucharczyk certainly was surprised.
Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush
Kucharczyk is now one of the most famous WAG influencers online, with nearly 4 million followers across platforms.
For example, when Rochell was cut from the Cleveland Browns in 2022.
This is still my life.
Until very recently, the termWAGwas mostly used as a pejorative by the tabloid press.
Women who dated professional athletes were often thought of as bimbos, arm candy, or gold diggers.
They were either disrespected or ignored.
They certainly had no organic platform of their own.
Immediately, she says, she faced a torrent of media and online abuse.
This content can also be viewed on the site itoriginatesfrom.
The last thing on her mind would have been to take a stab at build something for herself.
I felt like it wasnt my place.
I felt almost dirty doing that.
Women [now have] businesses and have this huge platform, she says.
It is incredible to watch.
WAGs have always had a unique perspective to share and unequivocally interesting things to talk about.
A WAG must, essentially, go where her partner goes.
Some have become very wealthy very fast; some are middle class.
What social media did for WAGs was open a door.
And they struck gold.
Now being a WAG can be a brand.
It can be a business.
It can make you rich.
I dont want to belittle Juwan.
Hes amazing and he does an amazing job in his football career.
But I was making more money than him until he got his new contract.
So if people are going to say Im a gold digger, thats fine, go ahead.
When hes done, were moving where I want to move, she says.
Hes going to be the stay-at-home dad while I go pursue my life.
Its been a wild ride.
In its current iteration, WAG World has its flaws.Its almost unbearably regressive in its near-uniform heterogeneity.
WAGs are in many ways a pretty uncomfortable mirror into American sports culture.
Now he is regularly covered as a celebrity in several publications (like this very one) and tabloids.
In fact, thats a scenario the NFLs Trombetta is most excited about.
He has a dream: turning all those little Swifties into future Olympic flag football players.
Its clear that WAGs are taking over, and were just as fascinated as everyone else in this phenomenon.
So during the course of the next five days, its WAG Week.
Well bring you interviews with established WAGS.
Well chart a complete history of the WAG from the UK to the US.
Well bring you beauty and style tips for your own WAG era, and more.
Its a WAG, WAG, WAG world, and were just living in it.
