2026 US Open's AAPI Panel: Embracing and celebrating identities
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — With nearly one in three people in Queens identifying as Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), the 2026 US Open celebrated the New York story of its home borough with a vibrant discussion about both the challenges and triumphs in the community today.
When former Top 10-doubles player Vania King bid farewell to professional tennis in 2020, she may have put down her racquet, but she was also on the precipice of a new journey, realizing how much her Taiwanese American heritage had an impact on the sport.
“All of us had our own journeys in the tennis industry—one shared by passion and love for tennis and the opportunities that sport can bring,” she told USOpen.org. “But we also recognized that there wasn't a lot of representation and there could be more community and resources. It was like, why don't we be that catalyst for our community.”
In September 2022, she founded Asian American Pacific Islander Tennis Association (AAPITA), the force behind the AAPI Amplified Equity Talk, held for the fourth year in a row at the 2026 US Open on Wednesday. “We have a stellar panel and we've always wanted to showcase the bridge of the AAPI community beyond tennis and beyond sport—and the US Open is that meeting point,” King added.
Moderated by the NBC News anchor Richard Lui, the panelists included Indian American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy, best known for his work on Heroes and Never Have I Ever; fashion designer Kim Shui, whose eponymous label has been worn by Kylie Jenner and Dua Lipa; and restaurateur Simon Kim, the force behind US Open food stands Coqodaq, CQDQ and Kimbop. This year's topic: “Beyond Representation: Rewriting AAPI Narratives.”
Each panelist opened up about the existing societal narratives they've had to counter in order to get to where they are today.
“In my business, you have to be put in a box because they need to cast you,” Ramamurthy said of being in his 27th year as a professional actor. “I just don't let them put me in any box because that's the kiss of death for an actor—I really do try to confuse people.”
The process was made even more difficult by not having anyone to look up to when he was starting out, except for Ben Kingsley. So he followed Kingsley’s route and studied theater in London. That said, eventually he found himself back in the U.S., learning to carve out his own path, even turning down auditions for roles that portrayed South Asians in stereotypical ways. Nowadays, he’s empowered to speak up on set, even talking to writers about creating more accurate and authentic portrayals of Asians on screen.
“Back then, I felt like, ‘Just be grateful that you’ve got a seat at the table,’” said Ramamurthy, who also started playing tennis when he was five, then junior tennis in Texas, and still plays in a USTA league. “Now I just want my own table.”
Fashion entrepeneur Shui always felt like she existed in the in-betweens, having grown up in Rome as a Chinese American. When she started her label, she kept getting feedback against using her own name. “A lot of people said you should use a name that’s more easily digestible for others and is more generic, you know, that doesn’t sound as Asian,” she recalled.
But she believed that not only is representation is essential, so is authorship. “You want to be able to shape what happens in the room and change that narrative,” she said. Even in her designs today, she’s bold about showing exactly who she is. “I don’t try to dilute my cultural heritage—I use it as my starting point," Shui said.
Now she’s proud of her dueling heritages: “You don't have to be Chinese to relate to the fact that you may feel caught between identities or caught between worlds."
While Kim has shaken up the US Open food scene for the last three years with his caviar-topped chicken nuggets, he also felt the pressure to hide his identity early in his career, pouring all his efforts into opening an Italian restaurant, Piora. While it earned him a Michelin star, he still felt like something was missing, like he was trying to "imitate" and that his “north star was somewhere else.”
“Growing up in America as an Asian man, it was always am I Korean or am I American?” he admitted. “Realizing that we’re not Korean or American, but Korean and American, makes us so unique.”
Eventually he closed that first restaurant and is now best known for NYC’s Cote Korean Steakhouse, grateful for both of his cultures. “If you grow up in one culture, you have one toolbox and that's what you have to search through, whereas I have a whole Asian toolbox and American toolbox,” Kim said.
Lui also shared his own experiences as a broadcast journalist, only being able to look up to Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings, when he first started navigating his career. These days the canvas has expanded. “Now I look at Ronny Chieng and I want to be just like him as an anchor,” he said. “He’s so informative and funny. We all love him, but he's totally the opposite.”
The entire panel also celebrated how the everyday elements of Asian culture are now also a part of mainstream Americana, from the popularity of BTS, Katseye, and K-pop Demon Hunters to even simple habits being accepted and mimicked, like taking shoes off in the house—something the entire room was thrilled about.
Wednesday morning's panel wasn’t the only AAPI representation at the Grand Slam, as elements of Asian culture have increasingly become an organic part of the Open. “There's the lion dance, which people really love that bless the tournament and bring good fortune,” AAPITA executive director Samantha Crawford, also a former pro, told USOpen.org. “The cultural dances through Fan Week are great and there are highlights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.”
But it’s the overall presence at the US Open that makes the biggest difference. “Tennis is one of those sports that everyone can play and you can play it for your whole life—it’s very welcoming,” she added. “Hopefully this all just makes it more accessible to everyone in the AAPI community.”
