The 2022 US Open was one of stunning upsets, history-making matches, and record numbers. It was also the first year ever that locals in New York City could both watch the matches in person and bet on them online.
Mobile sports betting launched in New York in January 2022, and the state quickly became the largest sports betting market in the country. The US Open was an excellent opportunity to make wagers and enhance an already entertaining event.
Top New York sportsbooks offered exciting bonuses for tennis fans and sports bettors, such as the FanDuel Promo Code NY.
Of course, there’s nothing sports bettors love more than a few surprises that go their way. Here were the top five surprises from this year’s US Open.
1. Serena’s “Final” Match
The biggest surprise of the tournament was Serena Williams’ announcement that she’s leaving competitive tennis – for now.
While Serena avoided the word “retirement,” she told Vogue in a pre-tournament profile that she would be “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Those other important things? Her family, which includes her husband Alexis and her daughter Olympia, and her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures.
Serena made it to the Third Round, and her final Friday night match was the most-watched tennis match of all time. She lost in three grueling sets to Ajla Tomljanović, who would go on to make it to the Quarterfinals.
And, speaking of the Quarterfinals…
2. A New Crop of Stars
The late rounds of the 2022 US Open featured younger, newer tennis stars.
In fact, for the first time since 2003, the Quarterfinals were missing Serena Williams on the women’s side, and the Big Three – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer – on the men’s.
Williams was eliminated in the Third Round while Nadal, the only one of the Big Three to compete at the 2022 Open, lost to American Frances Tiafoe in the Round of 16.
Tiafoe became an instant star and effectively ended Nadal’s 22-match Grand Slam-winning streak. The 24-year-old even got a Twitter shout-out from NBA legend LeBron James.
3. The Latest Finish in US Open History
Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t just the outright winner of the Men’s US Open. He also turned into a late-night phenom in the matches under the lights.
In his Quarterfinal match against Jannik Sinner, the two men went five sets and finished at 2:50 a.m. – the latest that any US Open match has ever gone. Alcaraz had nearly surpassed the record already the round before, ending his Round-of-16 match against Marin Čilić in five sets at 2:24 a.m.
Pat McEnroe pointed out that, in just three matches, Alcaraz spent more time on the court than it takes to watch the whole Godfather trilogy.
Of course, Alcaraz went on to win the tournament and snag the spot of #1 in the world.
4. Firsts for Arab and African Women
After becoming the first Arab and first African woman to reach a Grand Slam Final at Wimbledon, Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur did it again at the US Open.
Jabeur became the first Arab and first African woman to play in the US Open Finals. She lost in two rounds to Iga Świątek, who entered the tournament as oddsmakers’ heavy favorite to win it all.
The 28-year-old tennis star has been a massive inspiration for young women around the world, speaking openly about her mission to advance women in sports. She is the self-dubbed “Minister of Happiness” in Tunisia, and her tennis records include reaching No. 2 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and winning three singles titles on the WTA Tour.
5. Attendance Records Broken
This was the most-watched US Open in history, smashing records in both in-person attendance and broadcast viewership.
In the first eight days of the Open, over half a million fans came out to watch, and by the end of the tournament, over 776,000 people had come pouring through the gates to see the world’s best tennis in action. The previous record was set in 2019 with 737,872 fans in attendance
Much of the record-breaking can be attributed to Serena’s presence. People came out in droves for the chance to watch her play in her final few matches. On the Friday of Serena’s “last match,” the US Open set an all-time single-day attendance record with 72,039 fans.
Of course, as we mentioned, the record-breaking didn’t stop in the stands – ESPN hit a record 4.8 million viewers for Serena’s final match. That’s the most for any tennis broadcast in the entire ESPN cable network history.
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