Politixia
American teenager Coco Gauff earned a historic victory at the US Open this year. Gauff claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the Flushing Meadows. With this victory, she became the youngest American player to win the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999. But it is not just Gauff and her achievements which have enthralled sports enthusiasts. The US Open women’s singles final, between Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, in itself has turned out to be quite historic. The final encounter has reportedly produced a rare ratings breakthrough moment in women’s sports. According to Forbes, the match between Gauff and Sabalenka has surpassed the men’s singles final fixture in terms of viewership and it also broke the ESPN record for the most-watched women’s Grand Slam final.
The report suggests that as per Nielsen data, around 3.4 million viewers tuned in for this year’s US Open women’s singles final. Meanwhile, nearly 2.3 million people watched the men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
Coco Gauff’s US Open triumph was the most-viewed women’s final of any tennis major ever broadcast on ESPN, the network claimed. Their viewership was, reportedly, up by 92 per cent from the last year’s women’s championship.
Gauff’s win against Sabalenka is understood to be the second-most-viewed US Open telecast. Serena Williams’ 2002 final against her sister Venus claims the first spot on this list. Gauff’s final encounter also helped the weekend’s overall tournament viewership to go up to 2.8 million, which is the second-most-viewed US Open of all-time on ESPN.
“I’m still me. … I don’t think I’ll ever (see) myself as a celebrity. I’m just a person who plays tennis, and millions of people like to watch me play tennis. But I think I’m going to be the same person after this. Yes, my life has changed. But I don’t think it’s going to affect how I approach my day-to-day life,” Gauff was quoted as saying by news agency AP following her win against Sabalenka.
The men’s segment also registered some incredible viewership numbers. This year’s final fixture between Djokovic and Medvedev appeared to be the ninth-most-watched cable program. Medvedev’s semi-final against last year’s US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was the tenth-most-watched cable show.
While Alcaraz failed to defend his US Open title it was Djokovic who claimed a historic victory at the Flushing Meadows this year. Djokovic defeated Russia’s Medvedev in the final 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to win the title. The win guided the Serbian champ to become the first player to earn 24 Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, which commenced in 1968.
