Australian Open 2022 women's singles final shatters records as millions tune in to watch Ashleigh Barty create history

Ashleigh Barty made history on the courts at Melbourne Park on Saturday by becoming the first Aussie in 44 years to win the Australian Open. Off the court, the World No. 1 was part of broadcasting history as record numbers tuned in to watch her final against Danielle Collins.

Barty's 87-minute demolition act against Collins, which ended 6-3, 7-6(2) in favor of the Australian, was viewed by an average of 3.67 million people nationally. At its peak, 4.3 million Australians enjoyed the sight of the home favorite battling past the World No. 30 in straight sets.

This is the largest audience for any women's final match at the Melbourne Major since OzTAM (Australia's Television Audience Measurement firm) started keeping records in 2001.

In the history of the tournament, only three other finals have drawn more spectators than the Barty-Collins encounter: Lleyton Hewitt vs Marat Safin (2005), Roger Federer vs Marcos Baghdatis (2006) and Federer vs Rafael Nadal (2017).

Interestingly, the presentation ceremony after the match - where Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley dropped in to present the trophy to her compatriot - attracted even more viewership. An estimated 3.9 million Australians watched Barty lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Barty has been continuously setting viewership records at the tournament, with each match improving on the previous record. The average figures for her previous three matches in Melbourne were: Semifinal (vs Madison Keys) - 2.06 million, quarterfinal (vs Jessica Pegula) - 1.71 million and fourth round (vs Amanda Anisimova) - 1.6 million.

All three matches had higher TV ratings than the 2021 Australian Open men's final between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev (1.5 million on average).

The 2022 Australian Open men's doubles final also broke viewership records

The 2022 Australian Open men's doubles final became the most-watched doubles final at the tournament

The Australian public were just as thrilled about the men's doubles final which took place after Ashleigh Barty's match. The encounter between the wildcard pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis and the unseeded duo of Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden became the highest-rated Australian Open men's doubles final in OzTAM history.

A national average of almost 2.3 million Australians witnessed Kokkinakis/Kyrgios defeat Ebden/Purcell 7-5, 6-4. At its peak, 3.15 million people watched the duo win their first Grand Slam title.

The pair became the first wildcard team to win the tournament in the Open Era. They defeated four seeded teams along the way, including No. 1 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the second round