Game, set, match – one ball boy stole the show at the US Open after he was caught in a sweet moment on the court.
On 28 August, the official US Open TikTok posted a video to their page featuring a young man with red hair standing on the edge of the court. He wore the “ball boy” uniform: a short-sleeve collared polo shirt, blue shorts, and white sneakers.
“This ball boy catch,” the on-screen message read. The young man stood on the opposite end of the court from the player serving the ball. He didn’t move a muscle as the ball catapulted directly toward him, before seamlessly catching the air-borne object with both hands. Immediately, he flashed a side eye to his right and smirked as he nodded in the opposite direction.
Under the video, the US Open admired his “lil nod” and captioned the footage with laughing face and heart emoticons. Viewers followed suit with adoration, pointing to his apparent confidence and cheekiness.
“Love the cute little smirk,” a fan wrote, while another said: “Smooth!”
Many took to the comments section to acknowledge the “rizz” he had, which has become a slang for charisma. A representative for Pepsi noted: “Ball boy got rizz.” Meanwhile, other individuals compared his looks to Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Parker and Farmer Hoggett.
The video, which has now received over 186,600 views, caught the attention of the young man. “Ummmm, that’s me. Thanks for the highlight,” he wrote, to which multiple people replied. One fan said: “Best thing I’ve seen in the tournament today! Nice!”
“Lucky! I wanna be you. Best seat in the house,” another viewer added.
The Independent has reached out to the ball boy for a comment.
According to the US Open website, the first tournament was held in 1968, with Arthur Ashe winning the men’s single division. Every year since then, the US Open starts on the last Monday in August and continues for two weeks.
This year, the first round of men’s and women’s singles took place on 28 August, followed by the first round of men’s and women’s doubles on 30 August. Quad wheelchair singles round one and the first round of men’s and women’s wheelchair singles are scheduled for 5 September. All championship matches will take place on the ninth and tenth of the month.
Played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, the tournament is the last chance for players and teams to win a title before the end of the calendar year.
