The 2024 US Open was one of the most successful outings for the American men’s tennis player. Frances Tiafoe made it to the SF, while Taylor Fritz became the first American men’s player to compete in the Grand Slam singles final after Andy Roddick (2009). Although Fritz lost the match by 3-6,4-6,5-7, his performance throughout the tournament kept the American tennis fans on the edge of their seats. However, surprisingly, despite the valiant efforts to break the jinx in American men’s tennis, we have witnessed a record 4-year drop in the viewership in the men’s singles final.

As per reports, the 2024 US Open final between Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner recorded an average of 1.8 million viewers across ABC (1.67M) and ESPN+. It’s nearly 31% less than what was recorded in the 2023 season and the men’s final in the 2020 US Open (least watched). This four-year decline is massive, especially when the event was aired on broadcast television for the first time since 2014 when CBS last held its rights.

With the move from ESPN to ABC, the final was aired two hours earlier than normal and competed within 1 pm ET NFL games. NFL games have an average of more than 30 million viewers on FOX and CBS. The women’s final match between another American Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka also recorded 1.8 million viewers across ESPN (1.62 million) and ESPN+. That’s almost a straight 53% reduction from last year’s final, where Coco Gauff clinched her first major title by defeating Sabalenka. This year’s record is also 10% less than that of 2022.

Coco Gauff’s win over Sabalenka delivered 3.4 million viewers on ESPN. That was the most-viewed Major Women’s Championship ever. It was also the most streamed telecast of the tournament on ESPN+. However, this year’s US Open has been a mix of good and bad when it comes to viewership and attendance.

Several DirecTV subscribers weren’t able to watch the US Open

According to multiple reports, nearly 11 million DirecTV subscribers weren’t able to watch the US Open live this year. It was mainly due to the contract dispute between the satellite providers Disney and DirecTV. Considering the stature of this tournament, these numbers are huge! Viewerships also took a hit in the SF matches. The all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe recorded a viewership of just around 1.78 million, and that’s almost 2.26 million less than last year’s SF match between Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. 

Even Frances Tiafoe’s SF match against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 season marked 2.96 million viewers. Women’s SF matches in this season saw a drop of around 39% from last year.

However, everything is not gloomy in the last major tournament in the 2024 season. Almost 1 million fans attended this year’s mega event. A total of around 1,048,669 fans attended the tournament over these three weeks, and that’s an 8% increase from last year. Share your own experience from this year’s US Open in the comment box.