Ashleigh Barty vs Danielle Collins Reaps Whopping Viewership, Becomes the Most-Watched Australian Open Women’s Final

The Australian Open final between Ashleigh Barty and Danielle Collins was significant in so many ways. It was Barty’s first-ever Australian Open win and Collins’ first-ever Grand Slam final match. Both women put up a tremendous show for the crowd inside as well as outside the stadium. 

Certainly, numbers do not lie. The final drew massive numbers, and according to Oztam, this match was the most-watched Australian Open women’s final since they started keeping records in 1999. 

Ashleigh Barty vs Danielle Collins, the numbers game

On Saturday, Australia’s own Ashleigh Barty finally conquered her ‘Home Grand Slam’ in front of a massive crowd. She beat her opponent, Danielle Collins, in 1 hour and 27 minutes, by 6-3,7-6. Her historic win also drew enormous numbers in TV ratings. 

Oztam reported that the peak audience for this match was 4.261 million, while the average was 3.577 million. In comparison, the 2021 US Open women’s final match peaked at 3.4 million and the men’s final peaked at 2.7 million. 

However, if you compare the population of the two countries, there’s a huge difference. Australia has a population of 25.9 million and the US population is around 239.5 million. According to calculation, around 17% of Australians were watching the final match between Barty and Collins at peak. That’s 1 out of every 6 people if you continue to count further. 

Barty finally ended the drought

Barty’s Australian Open win will be in the history books for another significant reason. In 1978, Chris O’Neil was the last Australian to win the Australian Open. After 44 years, Barty finally ended the drought by winning the Australian Open trophy on her home soil. 

Watch This Story: Ash Barty had an emotional breakdown before her semi-final match at the Australian Open

This is Barty’s 3rd Grand Slam title and first Australian Open. After winning her Home Slam, Barty has now won a Grand Slam on three different surfaces. This win means she is now only the second active female player to achieve this feat after Serena Williams. Previously, Barty had victories at the French Open and Wimbledon, in 2019 and 2021 respectively. 

How many more Grand Slams can Barty win in the future? Let us know in the comments.

Read More: Watch: Danielle Collins Breaks Down During Her Emotional Speech at Australian Open 2022