The U.S. Open Popularity, Explained

Every yr, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships sparks a frenzy that goes past its sport. We tune into matches, watch the stands carefully, and get impressed to enroll in tennis classes—even when we have by no means swung a racket earlier than. And it isn’t simply us.

The U.S. Open’s recognition was by no means extra obvious than final yr, when Coco Gauff’s win—the primary by an adolescent to in additional than 20 years—attracted nearly 3.4 million viewers, making it the the most-viewed girls’s closing of any tennis main broadcasted on ESPN. That match pushed viewership on the community up 92 % from the earlier yr’s championship.

It’s simple that this Grand Slam piques the curiosity of the plenty every summer season, nevertheless it’s price asking: Why the fascination over a event for a sport that (let’s be trustworthy) many individuals don’t take note of the remainder of the yr?

It’d be troublesome to acknowledge the U.S. Open at its inception in 1881, when it was a males’s singles and doubles event in Newport, Rhode Island, per the ATP Tour.

“The carnival-like atmosphere of the U.S. Open at present attracts in not solely avid tennis followers, but in addition those that could not usually observe the game,” says Kendra Gage, PhD, a historian and assistant professor on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who focuses on subjects equivalent to U.S. sports activities historical past. “Followers cheer, whistle, and enthusiastically applaud—notably on the primary courtroom, Arthur Ashe Stadium, which has earned a status for being the ‘loudest’ stadium within the sport.”

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Whereas some gamers and ardent tennis followers chastise this lack of conventional tennis etiquette, others have fun the shift for its capacity to draw new followers. The relaxed ambiance contrasts with the everyday tennis decorum in different main tournaments, making the U.S. Open really feel extra accessible and entertaining to a bigger viewers, Dr. Gage provides.

However this sensation goes past cheering crowds. Listed below are three extra key causes the U.S. Open holds such mass attraction.

1. The celeb side

Regardless of the thrill of the sport itself, those that attend additionally create attract across the U.S. Open. It’s develop into a cultural occasion that draws celebrities and, in flip, viewers who hope to see their favourite stars within the stands.

“The presence of celebrities on the matches has led to a major improve in viewers who wouldn’t ordinarily watch tennis,” Dr. Gage says. “That is, partly, as a result of the U.S. Open has develop into a extremely sought-after ticket by celebrities who view their attendance as an necessary standing image.”

Cameras on the occasion attempt to seize viral moments, like when Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake danced to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” in 2015. Equally, Meryl Streep’s dramatic reactions turned a meme of their very own throughout the 2018 video games—and Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet’s PDA made headlines in 2023.

“It does not matter the place the celebrities are or what they’re watching, their followers might be ,” says Cristel Russell, PhD, professor of selling and shopper behaviors at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. “Star energy helps direct followers’ consideration.”

Figuring out this urge for food for celeb juice, the media’s protection of the occasion has expanded from the gamers to additionally embody well-known folks in attendance, who they got here with, and what they wore to the occasion.

“This has created a brand new fan base that’s extra invested within the leisure aspect of the Open than the precise matches,” Dr. Gage says.

Though celebrities attending the U.S. open isn’t new, it’s gained momentum in recent times, says George Patient, founder and editor of Merch Mates, a life-style and popular culture weblog.

That is partly as a result of high-profile alternative it gives celebrities to strengthen their standing and visibility, but in addition due to its place as a networking hotspot.

“It’s a spot the place the leisure, style, and enterprise worlds intersect, creating alternatives for collaborations and endorsements,” Affected person says.

Main names noticed on the 2023 U.S. Open embody former president Barack Obama and former first woman Michelle Obama, Gayle King, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Mindy Kaling, Matthew McConaughey, Justin Timberlake, Lil Wayne, and Martha Stewart, per Town & Country.

“The U.S. Open gives alternatives for folks to tune in and watch one thing stay that they will focus on with their household and pals in individual or on social media.”—Cristel Russell, PhD

2. The social media affect

Even when spectators aren’t within the stands themselves, social media offers them the prospect to expertise stay occasions just like the U.S. Open in actual time—and that does not imply simply the matches.

“Live sports events generate buzz and togetherness,” Dr. Russell says. “The U.S. Open gives seldom-available alternatives for folks to tune in and watch one thing stay that they will focus on with their household and pals in individual or on social media.”

The U.S. Open official TikTok account (which has 1.6 million followers) focuses not solely on key moments throughout the matches, but in addition on the celebs current, making a light-hearted, enjoyable tradition for the Open that is not at all times related to tennis.

“Social media has undoubtedly performed probably the most important position in producing a more recent fan base for the U.S. Open,” Dr. Gage says. “They acknowledge the ability of social media influencers and opened an influencer suite in 2022.”

These influencers cowl their experiences, the meals they eat, promoting manufacturers, and celebrities they see. What’s occurring on the courtroom is commonly second-tier content material.

The gamers themselves get in on the social media buzz, too. Gauff used her personal account to create a TikTok video with the caption “this barbie is the us open champion 💞,” accompanied by the favored Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice music “Barbie World.”

“A number of of the youthful gamers, like Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ben Shelton, have important followings on their social media platforms and are inspiring the following era to not solely watch tennis however to play the game as effectively,” Dr. Gage says.

Patrick Stephenson, a sports activities author, professional golfer, and former aggressive tennis participant, says main occasions just like the U.S. Open get readers fascinated with studying extra about sports activities—particularly when social media performs a major position.

“Footage from the event proliferate social media, normalizing tennis as a leisure or observational pastime, even for non-players,” Stephenson says.

After all, all of this social media buzz performs into that oh-so-common worry of lacking out, too.

“The glamorous portrayal of the U.S. Open on social media creates a way of FOMO,” Affected person says. “Seeing celebrities having fun with the occasion compels many to tune in, not desirous to miss out on what has develop into a serious cultural occurring.”

3. The impact on different social points

The U.S. Open has a novel place in girls’s sports activities due to the efforts of the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation. The affiliation was based in 1973 by Billie Jean King, who pushed for the U.S. Open to be the primary sporting occasion on this planet to supply equal prize cash for each women and men, Dr. Gage says.

In 2001, the U.S. Open made historical past once more by scheduling its first closing match for prime-time community tv, which led to the historic protection of the match between sisters Venus and Serena Williams—a serious stride for broadcast parity. And Gauff’s victory in 2023 attracted over 1,000,000 extra viewers than the boys’s closing match, producing much more pleasure round girls’s tennis and girls’s sports activities on the whole.

That stated, the U.S. Open’s affect goes past girls’s sports activities. Many different celebrations, for social and cultural actions past tennis, happen on the event.

Throughout final yr’s Open, festivities for the LGBTQ+ group and Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities befell, the third time these occasions had been celebrated on the U.S. Open, experiences The New York Times.

“Many sports activities leagues have realized that the twenty first century and its slew of social actions requires that they deal with range—or lack thereof,” Dr. Russell says.

It additionally attracts these wanting a extremely seen platform to talk out about sure points: In 2023, climate protestors caused a 45-minute delay throughout Gauff’s semifinal towards Karolína Muchová. Protestors had been escorted out of the stadium and the match continued.

“In an age of on-demand every little thing, folks lengthy for one thing to speak about that’s unfolding in entrance of their eyes.”—Dr. Russell

The way forward for tennis within the U.S.

The U.S. Tennis Affiliation has developed a progress technique to extend the variety of folks taking part in tennis to 35 million in the US by 2035, they usually wish to concentrate on reaching a extra numerous group of gamers.

“Their initiative promotes fairness and diversity within the tennis community and is targeted on guaranteeing the long-term sustainability and progress of the game by tapping right into a wider expertise pool,” Dr. Gage says.

The pandemic could have given this initiative a lift: Some analysis suggests the pandemic led to the expansion of the game, as a result of it was one of many few sports activities that individuals may nonetheless take part in whereas social distancing, Dr. Gage provides.

Pickleball and badminton are additionally on the rise, making 2024 seemingly yr of the racket. It’s anticipated that the U.S. Open will proceed to herald pleasure, viewers, and social media posts when the event begins August 26.

“It’ll supply seldom-available alternatives for folks to tune in and watch one thing stay that they will focus on with their household and pals in individual or on social media,” Dr. Russell says. “In an age of on-demand every little thing, stay occasions have gotten rarer and rarer—and but, folks lengthy for one thing to speak about that’s unfolding in entrance of their eyes.”