US Open women's final between Coco Gauff & Aryna Sabalenka garners more views than Novak Djokovic-Daniil Medvedev summit clash
The US Open women's final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka reportedly drew more viewers on cable networks across America than the summit clash between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.
While Djokovic ascended to greatness with his record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows on Sunday (September 10), Gauff showed America a glimpse of what the future of women's tennis holds on Saturday (September 9). At just 19, she became the first teenage American to win the US Open after the great Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff's popularity in the tennis world has peaked since the turn of this year. The youngster announced herself to the world with a victory over her idol Venus Williams on her Wimbledon debut in 2019. She made it as far as the pre-quarterfinals in London before going down to the eventual champion Simona Halep.
However, the release of TV broadcast and cable ratings for the weekend following the US Open has solidified Gauff's stature as her contest with Sabalenka outperformed the men's final in television viewership.
As per the official data released by SportsTVRatings, the women's final was watched by a staggering 3.422 million people, 1.1 million more than the number that the men's decider could garner (2.321 million).
The women's final also performed better on the parameter of the vital age 18-49 demographic rating. With a 0.72 rating on the demographic scale, the women's contest fared much better than 0.46 for the clash between Djokovic and Medvedev.
The US Open celebrated 50 years of equal pay for men & women
On Monday, August 28, the US Open celebrated the golden jubilee of equal prizemoney for male and female players in the tournament, honoring tennis icon Billie Jean King.
In 1973, the New York Major became the first sporting event to dispense equal prize money for the winners to male and female winners. This happened on the back of boycott threats by the women contingent, led by King, whose efforts brought about a paradigm shift in the tennis world.
Former first lady Michelle Obama marked the event with a rousing tribute for King. She said:
"Billie Jean teaches us that when things lie in the balance, we all have a choice to make... We can either wait around and accept what we're given. ... or we can make our own stand."
Later in the evening, Billie Jean King addressed a full house at Arthur Ashe Stadium and rallied her supporters to continue their efforts in pursuit of freedom.
"While we celebrate today, our work is far from done. Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and you win it in every generation," she said.