Despite Americans playing in both singles finals, the US Open ended on a quiet note in the ratings.
Sunday’s Jannik Sinner-Taylor Fritz US Open men’s final averaged 1.8 million viewers across ABC (1.67M) and ESPN+, down 31% from last year and the least-watched men’s final since 2020. The four-year decline is despite the event airing on broadcast television for the first time since CBS last held rights in 2014.
In conjunction with the move from ESPN to ABC, the final aired two hours earlier than had been normal and competed with the 1 PM ET NFL games — which combined to average more than 30 million viewers on FOX and CBS.
On Saturday, the Aryna Sabalenka-Jessica Pegula women’s final averaged 1.8 million across ESPN (1.62M) and ESPN+, down 53% from Coco Gauff’s win over Sabalenka last year and also down 10% from 2022.
Though both singles finals were competitive, they were also decided in straight sets. In addition, while Pegula and Fritz are Americans, neither has the high profile of a Gauff or Frances Tiafoe.
Viewership also took a hit in the semifinals. Friday’s all-American men’s semifinal between Fritz and Frances Tiafoe averaged 1.78 million — down from 2.26 million for Daniil Medvedev-Carlos Alcaraz last year and down from Tiafoe’s previous semifinal against Alcaraz two years ago (2.96M). Coverage faced unusual NFL competition from a Packers-Eagles game on Peacock.
Thursday’s women’s semifinals averaged 1.11 million, down 39% from last year (1.83M).
