Coco Gauff was even turning the heads of spectators who weren’t present at Saturday’s match.
The teen tennis sensation is the first American to win the U.S. Open Title since 2017, and ESPN is reaping the benefits. The women’s tennis match on Sept. 9 received the highest viewership out of the whole tournament, which totaled to one million more viewers than the men’s final.
According to Front Office Sports, ESPN reported that 3.4 million people were tuned in to the weekend match where the 19-year-old Atlanta native ended with a three-set victory over her opponent, No. 1 seed, Aryna Sabalenka. This is a record high for viewers of a women’s major tennis final on ESPN, which outnumbered last year’s match between Iga Świątek and Ons Jabeur by 92%.
After the match, Gauff thanked her supporters–and haters.
“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff said to her doubters. “To those who thought you were putting water on my fire, you were actually adding gas to it.”
The two-week U.S. Open tournament in Flushing, New York, holds the record for being the second most-watched on ESPN of all time. Front Office Sports noted there were a combined 2.8 million viewers recorded for the men’s and women’s final. This is a 40% increase from the TV and streaming audience last year. The soaring total average for the women’s and men’s final viewership has since the past year has resulted in a combined total that ranks number 2 behind the 2019 audience.
Aside from TV viewers and streaming audiences, the U.S. Open hosted 799,402 viewers. The attendance was up 3% from last year.
Gauff’s Grand Slam title has earned her a whopping $3 million and a total of $5.5 million from the entire season. Gauff is ranked No. 3 for highest earners in women’s tennis and No. 7 overall. Forbes reported that Gauff has earned $12 million off the court from endorsements, appearances, and other business deals.
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