Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian has called for investment in women's sports after the
US Open clash between
Coco Gauff and
Aryna Sabalenka got more viewership than the men's final.
Gauff and Sabalenka locked horns in the final of the season's last Grand Slam. The Belarusian took the first set 6-2, but Gauff fought back hard in front of her home crowd at Flushing Meadows and ultimately won the match and her first major title 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The next day, Novak Djokovic took to the court against Daniil Medvedev on a mission to win his 24th Grand Slam title. After being disappointed in Wimbledon two months ago, the Serb succeeded this time around as he dominated the match to win in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Ohanian points out viewership difference
While the stakes were high for both matches, it has now been revealed that Gauff and Sabalenka's final received over a million more viewers (3.422 million) than the men's final (2.321 million) in the United States.
Ohanian, who is a leading investor in the National Soccer League team Angel City FC, shared his thoughts on these statistics.
"Facts > Feelings. US viewership of @USOpen finals: Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka: 3.422 million. Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev: 2.321 million. The free market speaks (again). Invest in Women's Sports. @weareangelcity was just the start for me..." he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ohanian hits back at detractors
However, some social media users argued that the higher viewership in the States was because an American player was in the women's final. However, the 40-year-old hit back at this argument.
"Spoiler: the US viewership for the women trump the men in the USOpen final Every. Single. Year.
"Cope harder, folks. The Wimbledon MEN'S FINAL set records with 3.2M viewers -- trailing only Djokovic-Roger Federer in 2019 (3.83M) as the most-watched Wimbledon singles final in more than a decade. And this USOpen Women's Final was still watched by more Americans," he wrote.