Tennis News You Can Use
Television viewership for the recently concluded US Open tennis tournament was down sharply when compared to 2019. A lot of the decline in viewership can be chalked up to the COVID-19 sports bubbles that created a glut of major sporting events taking place at the same time. The overall average tournament viewership was down 45% compared to 2019.
While the sharp decline this year can be dismissed as a COVID-19 2020 anomaly, the numbers still tell an interesting story. In particular the way the data has trended over the past five years is fascinating.
Television Viewership for US Open Finals
The following two tables is a summary of US Open TV viewership for the US Open Finals for the past five years. The numbers are from an Forbes article. That source, in turn, derived their data from freelance tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg.
| 2020 | Naomi Osaka | Victoria Azarenka | 1.85 |
| 2019 | Bianca Andreescu | Serena Williams | 3.27 |
| 2018 | Naomi Osaka | Serena Williams | 3.15 |
| 2017 | Sloane Stephens | Madison Keys | 1.85 |
| 2016 | Angelique Kerber | Karolina Pliskova | 1.46 |
| 2015 | Flavia Pennetta | Roberta Vinci | 1.60 |
| 2020 | Dominic Thiem | Alexander Zverev | 1.48 |
| 2019 | Rafael Nadal | Daniil Medvedev | 2.81 |
| 2018 | Novak Djokovic | Juan Martin del Potro | 2.09 |
| 2017 | Rafael Nadal | Kevin Anderson | 1.48 |
| 2016 | Stan Wawrinka | Novak Djokovic | 1.67 |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 3.15 |
One thing that jumps out immediately is that the viewership of the women’s finals have outpaced the men’s finals over the past three years. It is actually not that close. The last time the men enjoyed a dominant advantage in viewership was in 2015 when Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer played for the title.
In fact, when I squint hard at the numbers, another pattern emerges. Star power matters. A lot. Focusing exclusively on these tables, it is reasonable to argue that Serena Williams is the largest television draw of any current player in tennis.
There was less television spectator enthusiasm for the “Big Three” of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic than I would have anticipated. Based on this limited data set, it appears that the highest interest level is when the Big Three play each other. There is less enthusiasm when they are playing a player that is relatively unknown to the general public.
The scary part for tennis is that the list of players who are less of a draw, even when playing one of the Big Three, includes Stan Wawrinka, Kevin Anderson, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Daniil Medvedev.
Fortune Telling
The current mega-stars of professional tennis are in the waning years of their careers. Thus, tennis is heading toward an era without the players that pull large TV viewership. Unfortunately, promotion and media coverage remains myopically focused on those major stars. Once they retire, there is a real possibility that spectator interest in the sport will decline precipitously.
It is am imperative for both the men’s and the women’s tours to build public interest in the emerging stars of the game. That may come at the expense not broadcasting ever single moment of the current mega-stars remaining matches.
The US Open numbers seem to imply that the women are better positioned for this future than the men. Naomi Osaka’s stardom is already established. I would wager that several of the young American up and comers already have better household name recognition than their male counterparts. Coco Gauff would be exhibit A.
When the Original Nine women bucked the tennis establishment to form what ultimately became the WTA, it was because the professional men’s tour didn’t believe that the women were a vital part of the tennis eco-system. In the interim, the women have made tremendous strides toward achieving parity and indeed, occasionally surpassing the drawing power of the men.
It is not crazy to make the assertion that once Nadal and Federer are gone that public interest in watching professional tennis may shift to the women. Dramatically. It is going to be fascinating to watch it unfold.
- “US Open viewership down big in unusual year,” Dr. Jon Lewis, Sports Media Watch, viewed 10/2/2020.
- “US Open revenues and TV ratings suffer sharp drop but USTA still savors successful grand slam,” Bob Williams, SportBusiness US Office, September 21, 2020.
- “ESPN’s U.S. Open Ratings Down 45%, With Stars Sitting Out And Tennis Facing Fierce TV Competition,” Adam Zagoria, Forbes, September 15, 2020.
