"Shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian on the popularity debate between US men's and women's soccer

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recently gave his take on the long-standing debate about the popularity of men's and women's soccer in the United States.

Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, reacted to a social media post that highlighted the viewership of the recent USA vs Netherlands Round of 16 match at the FIFA World Cup. The tweet pointed out the difference between the viewership of prominent men's and women's FIFA World Cup matches.

"#USMNT vs Netherlands (2022 Men's World Cup): 16 million 🇺🇸 viewers. #USWNT vs Netherlands (2019 Women's World Cup): 20 million 🇺🇸 viewers. #USWNT vs Japan (2015 Women's World Cup): 23 million 🇺🇸 viewers. Numbers don't lie."

#USMNT vs Netherlands (2022 Men's World Cup): 16 million 🇺🇸 viewers

#USWNT vs Netherlands (2019 Women's World Cup): 20 million 🇺🇸 viewers

#USWNT vs Japan (2015 Women's World Cup): 23 million 🇺🇸 viewers

Numbers don't lie @donlemon twitter.com/itsmeglinehan/…

Ohanian, who tied the knot with tennis legend Serena Williams in 2017, opined that women's tennis has always been more popular in the US and so he wasn't surprised by the same trend being true in soccer as well.

"This shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention. Women's Tennis has long been more popular in US than Men's - now here's some more data about women's football just facts, folks," Ohanian wrote in the tweet.

This shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention. Women's Tennis has long been more popular in US than Men's - now here's some more data about women's football ⚽️👇 just facts, folks. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Ohanian, however, was met with instant criticism as another Twitter user stated that the comparison between a Round of 16 match and a final was unfair.

"I don’t disagree that women’s football is more popular in the US but surely comparing the viewership of the round of 16 match in the women’s World Cup would be a fairer comparison than the final."

@alexisohanian I don’t disagree that women’s football is more popular in the US but surely comparing the viewership of the round of 16 match in the women’s World Cup would be a fairer comparison than the final?

The entrepreneur smartly dealt with the criticism as he said that the men's team reaching the last-16 was equivalent to the women's team reaching the final. USWNT have won four World Cup titles, the most in the women's game.

The 39-year-old also added that a huge amount of money was invested in marketing the men's World Cup.

"I could argue that getting to the round of 16 for the US Men was the equivalent of getting to the final for the women. Fox Sports also made the largest marketing investment in their history for the men's world cup. Nice bump."

@dqnamo I could argue that getting to the round of 16 for the US Men was the equivalent of getting to the final for the women. Fox Sports also made the largest marketing investment in their history for the men's world cup. Nice bump.

Alexis Ohanian husband sent warm wishes to USMNT after their R16 loss in the FIFA World Cup

Alexis Ohanian has always been supportive of women's soccer in the US. Ohanian is also one of the leading investors, along with Serena Williams and Natalie Portman, in Angel City FC, a soccer club in the US.

Following USA's recent exit from the men's World Cup after losing to the Netherlands in the pre-quarterfinals, Ohanian took to Twitter to reflect on the American team's performance in the World Cup.

"Still proud of our @USMNT 🇺🇸 after a difficult loss for sure but we'll grow from it," Ohanian tweeted.

Still proud of our @USMNT 🇺🇸 after a difficult loss for sure but we'll grow from it. https://t.co/HwuVhLrU6o