The figures are in for Channel Nine’s broadcast of the Australian Open men’s final.
In an edition of the tournament that has seen a decline in ratings for Nine off last year’s incredible numbers, 1,322,000 tuned in to watch Novak Djokovic defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets on Sunday night, Mediaweek reports.
Fan-favourite Rafael Nadal’s five-set win in last year’s decider attracted an average of 1,600,000 metro fans, meaning 2023’s figures represent just over a 17 per cent decrease year-on-year.
But considering Nine had failed to accumulate fans during the tournament due to a lack of Australians progressing and a number of big names ruling themselves out, the figures are far from a disaster for tournament director Craig Tiley and the Australian Open.
However, the women’s final did see a big drop off given Aussie Ash Barty didn’t return.
Barty claimed victory over Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 last year in front of an average metro audience of 2.581 million (highest rating women’s final of all time), but as Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Ryabinka on Saturday, that number came in at 851,000, according to TV Blackbox.
A total of 12.5 million tuned into the Australian Open in 2022.
Nine recently re-signed to host the Australian Open through until 2030 on a deal reportedly worth $500 million.