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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner‘s burgeoning rivalry is captivating tennis fans following teh conclusion of the ‘Big Three’ era, with their recent Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final achieving the highest viewership ratings for the tournament in years.
The Wimbledon Finals match, where Sinner emerged victorious over Alcaraz, drew the largest audience for a Wimbledon men’s singles final since the 2019 encounter between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, according to the Associated press on the 16th.
Sinner secured a comeback victory against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men’s singles final on July 13th, with a final score of 3-1 (4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4). This win avenged Sinner’s loss to Alcaraz in the French Open Finals the previous month, where Alcaraz won 3-2 (6-4, 7-6 <7-4>, 4-6, 6-7 <3-7>, 6-7 <2-10>).
Sinner’s triumph at Wimbledon has solidified the emerging rivalry with Alcaraz. The two players have been dominant forces in men’s tennis since the Australian Open last year, collectively winning seven major championships. Sinner has now completed his Career Grand Slam set, with Australia being the only major he has yet to win, while Alcaraz has also achieved important success across multiple Grand Slam events.
The emergence of Sinner and Alcaraz as leading figures marks a new chapter for men’s tennis after the era dominated by Federer, Djokovic, and rafael Nadal. ESPN, which broadcast the Wimbledon men’s singles final, reported an average viewership of 2.9 million. This figure represents a 31% increase compared to the previous year’s final, which featured Alcaraz in his second consecutive victory. The Associated Press noted that this viewership is the highest since the 2019 final, where Djokovic defeated Federer in a five-set tiebreak, attracting approximately 3.8 million viewers according to ESPN data.
ESPN also observed increased viewership for both men’s and women’s singles matches. The women’s semi-final match, where Amanda Anisimova of the USA defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 2-1 (6-4, 4-6, 6-4), recorded an average of 897,000 viewers, the highest since 2015. The men’s semi-final matches garnered an average of 1.31 million viewers, marking the highest viewership since 2019.