If you’ve spent any time on "Tennis TikTok" or scrolled through Instagram during a Grand Slam, you’ve seen them. The blonde hair, the perfectly curated courtside outfits, and the inevitable paparazzi shots from the player's box. Morgan Riddle and Paige Lorenze have basically become the faces of a new era in professional sports. But honestly? The way people talk about them is usually pretty shallow.
People love a good catfight narrative. It’s an easy sell. Two successful, beautiful women dating top American tennis players—Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul—who happen to be friends and doubles partners? The "rivalry" writes itself. But if you actually look at how they’ve built their businesses, it’s not just about who has the better strawberry-and-cream outfit at Wimbledon. It’s about a massive shift in how sports marketing works in 2026.
The Cold War in the Player's Box?
Let’s get the "feud" stuff out of the way first. Fans are obsessed with the fact that they don’t follow each other on Instagram anymore. They used to. Now? Total digital silence.
During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, internet sleuths on Reddit and TikTok went into overdrive. They noticed that even when Fritz and Paul were playing doubles for Team USA at the Olympics, Morgan and Paige were never in the same frame. They weren't grabbing coffee. They weren't posting "bestie" selfies.
The rumor mill says it started over accusations of "copying" content styles or brand deals. Whether that’s true or just typical influencer drama, the reality is more professional. They are competitors. Not for the guys, but for the same pool of luxury brand dollars. When Morgan Riddle signs a deal with Wilson or Boss, that’s one less spot for someone else.
Morgan Riddle: The Mission to Make Tennis Cool
Morgan Riddle is often called the "most famous woman in men's tennis," a title The New York Times gave her that stuck. And she earned it. Before Morgan, tennis content was... dry. It was stats and highlights.
She changed the game by posting "Get Ready With Me" videos from the Australian Open and explaining the "Honey Deuce" cocktail at the US Open. She made tennis feel like a lifestyle you wanted to be part of, not just a sport you watched on a Sunday afternoon.
- Platform Peak: She dominates TikTok.
- The Vibe: High-fashion, educational, and slightly self-aware about the "WAG" label.
- Key Move: Partnering directly with tournaments like Wimbledon to host official fashion segments.
She’s been very open about the "WAG" (Wives and Girlfriends) label. She knows it’s reductive. She’s used it as a trojan horse to build a media empire that is arguably more stable than a tennis career, which—let's be real—can end with one bad ankle roll.
Paige Lorenze: The Entrepreneurial Juggernaut
Then there’s Paige Lorenze. If Morgan is the media personality, Paige is the mogul. She already had a massive following before she ever stepped foot on a tennis court, thanks to her lifestyle vlogs and previous high-profile relationships.
But once she started dating Tommy Paul, she leaned hard into the "Tennis Core" aesthetic. Her brand, Dairy Boy, exploded. She isn't just wearing clothes; she’s selling them. She launched a NYC Tennis collection that sold out faster than most people can serve an ace.
Paige told Forbes that while tennis boosted her numbers, she was already a business. She views social media as a "means to an end." That end is a multi-million dollar lifestyle brand. Her followers are incredibly loyal—about 80% female—and many of them started watching tennis specifically because of her. That is insane leverage.
The Marketing Genius Nobody Noticed
Here is the thing most people miss: The ATP (the men's tennis tour) desperately needed them.
Tennis has an aging fan base. For years, they struggled to reach Gen Z and Millennial women. Then Morgan and Paige showed up. Suddenly, you have millions of young women tuning in to see what they're wearing, which accidentally leads to them learning the rules of a tiebreak.
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It’s a "gateway drug" to the sport.
Whether they like each other or not is kind of irrelevant to the bottom line. Their presence has turned the player's box into a runway. In 2025, brand deals for tennis partners reportedly ranged from $200,000 to $500,000 for year-long contracts. That's more than some players make in prize money if they have a bad season.
How to Apply the "WAG" Strategy to Your Own Brand
You don't have to be dating a pro athlete to learn from what Morgan Riddle and Paige Lorenze are doing. They’ve mastered three specific things:
- Niche Authority: They didn't just post "lifestyle" content. They picked a specific, high-end niche (pro tennis) and became the go-to experts for the vibe of that world.
- Platform Diversification: Morgan owns TikTok; Paige owns Instagram and YouTube. They don't try to do everything the same way on every app.
- Ownership over Influence: Paige, specifically, showed that you should use your "clout" to build something you own (Dairy Boy) rather than just renting space from other brands.
The Bottom Line
The "Morgan vs. Paige" narrative is fun for the tabloids, but the real story is about two women who took a "plus-one" invitation and turned it into a seat at the head of the table. They’ve fundamentally changed how we consume tennis.
Next time you see a viral clip of the US Open, look past the court. The real business is happening in the stands.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Follow the "Vibe Shift": If you're a creator, look for "un-cool" or gatekept niches (like tennis used to be) and find a way to make them accessible through lifestyle content.
- Audit Your Assets: Are you building a brand you own, or are you just a billboard for other companies? Aim for the Paige Lorenze model of product ownership.
- Watch the Australian Open 2026: Pay attention to the brand logos in the "Get Ready With Me" videos. You’ll see the future of luxury marketing in real-time.