The US Open is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis and the final major of the season, played in New York City. The 2025 edition took place from August 25 to September 7, with news coverage extending well beyond the final. This year’s event was particularly eventful: Carlos Alcaraz won the men’s title by defeating Jannik Sinner in another chapter of their growing rivalry, Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her women’s title against Amanda Anisimova, and controversies such as Jelena Ostapenko’s remarks about Taylor Townsend, a viral hat-snatching incident by Polish CEO Piotr Szczerek, and Donald Trump’s attendance at the final dominated headlines alongside the matches themselves.

For this analysis, we looked at the US mobile News Boxes during the full tournament window, measuring which keywords and publishers gained the most visibility. The data was collected at 15-minute intervals to capture fluctuations in real time. The article is structured in two main parts: first, the keywords that drove visibility, grouped into categories such as general terms, players, matches, and off-court stories; and second, the publishers who captured the largest shares of visibility, when and why they peaked, and which articles were most influential.

For news publishers, this matters because the US Open is not only one of the biggest events on the sports calendar but also a stage where breaking news, controversies, and cultural narratives collide. Understanding what ranked and who benefited from it provides valuable insight into the dynamics of Google’s News Boxes during a high-profile, fast-moving event.

Let’s serve up the data!

Keywords that defined the 2025 US Open coverage

The lists below together contain the 117 keywords that generated rankings in the mobile News Boxes in the US between August 25 and September 10, 2025, covering the full span of the US Open from the start of the tournament through several days of post-event coverage. In total, these keywords produced 25,798 rankings. The values in parentheses indicate how many times each keyword appeared in visible positions in the News Boxes during the analyzed period, measured at 15-minute intervals. The keywords are sorted thematically into categories to better highlight which aspects of the tournament—from players and matches to general event terms and off-court stories—drove the most visibility.

General terms (16 keywords, 5,967 rankings)

General tournament-related keywords made up a significant share of the rankings: 5,967 in total, which equals about 23% of all keyword rankings, even though the group consists of only 16 keywords. This illustrates how much weight generic queries carry in Google’s News Boxes during major sports events.

The clear leader was “us open” with 3,368 rankings, which was not only the top keyword in this category but also the single most visible keyword across the entire dataset. This comes as little surprise—at any Grand Slam, the name of the tournament itself generally generates the highest search volume, and publishers consistently optimize content around it. Variants like “us open tennis 2025” (848) and “us open 2025” (170) also ranked well, reflecting how users often combine the tournament name with the year for context or to distinguish it from other sports “open” events.

Other general terms such as “open final” (316), “us open schedule” (242), and “us open final” (114) ranked strongly because they correspond to specific moments in the tournament, with fans looking for information on the daily order of play, semifinal/final coverage, or results. More neutral terms like “tennis” (216) or simply “open” (20) also surfaced, though at a smaller scale, likely because of their broadness and weaker intent. Similarly, “us open tickets” (12) saw only modest visibility.

Overall, while generic, these terms underline the baseline demand for orientation content—schedules, results, match updates—which serves as the entry point for audiences before they drill down into specific players, matches, or controversies.

Players (70 keywords, 15,641 rankings)

The Players category clearly dominated coverage, as is typical in tennis reporting. With 70 keywords generating 15,641 rankings, this group alone made up about 61% of the total dataset. Tennis coverage is highly personality-driven, with athletes’ performances, rivalries, and off-court incidents often shaping the news agenda as much as the matches themselves. Here are some interesting contextual insights from this category:

Taylor Townsend: A breakout storyline

Taylor Townsend emerged as the most visible individual player in the dataset. The base keyword “taylor townsend” alone accounted for 2,892 rankings, and across all 12 Townsend-related keywords, she reached 3,870 rankings—roughly a quarter of all player-focused rankings.

This prominence was not solely tied to her on-court success (she upset Jelena Ostapenko in the second round) but to the controversy around Ostapenko’s comments labeling her as having “no class” and “no education.” The incident triggered allegations of racial undertones and drew widespread media attention. Additional keyword variants such as “taylor townsend comments” (52) and “taylor townsend education” (14) reflect how the fallout around the remarks created multiple news angles.

Veterans & Legends: Williams Sisters, Sharapova

Other well-known names also ranked strongly. Venus Williams achieved 1,186 rankings and Serena Williams 899, underscoring their continuing media appeal despite being past their competitive prime. Maria Sharapova, with 218 rankings, also remained a visible figure despite her retirement, demonstrating the long-lasting pull of former champions whenever they appear around major tournaments.

Big Three & Top Men’s Seeds

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic continued to command attention, with more than 2,000 combined rankings across different keyword variants such as “djokovic,” “novak djokovic,” and “djokovic us open.” His semifinal run, along with his ongoing status as one of the sport’s greats, ensured that coverage remained high. Daniil Medvedev, who reached over 1,000 rankings, was also heavily featured, including smaller keywords tied to moments of frustration or controversy. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz together represented the new generation, with their rivalry culminating in Alcaraz’s victory in the final. Their combined keyword presence showed how strongly the men’s game is shifting toward the Alcaraz–Sinner dynamic, while still overlapping with Djokovic’s longevity.

Women’s Singles: Sabalenka, Osaka, Anisimova

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka stood out with more than 500 combined rankings across variants, reflecting her successful title defense and her position as one of the most consistent players of the past two seasons. Naomi Osaka, who produced a deep run before being upset by Amanda Anisimova in the semifinal, generated over 1,000 rankings across multiple variants. Anisimova herself benefited from that upset and her appearance in the final, reaching significant visibility through terms like “anisimova” and “final anisimova.” Coco Gauff also remained a highly visible figure despite not reaching the final stages, while Jelena Ostapenko drew attention largely because of her clash with Townsend.

Male vs. Female Balance

When comparing male and female representation, the women’s side clearly generated more visibility overall, which is not a given in sports coverage. Out of the 70 player-related keywords, 44 keywords with 9,476 rankings were linked to female players, while 26 keywords with 6,165 rankings referred to male players. While men like Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz delivered strong totals, the women produced more diversity and more keywords across different storylines. Townsend alone accounted for a quarter of all player-related rankings, while Sabalenka, Osaka, Anisimova, Gauff, and the Williams sisters all added to the overall strength of the women’s coverage.

Use of full names vs. last names

Another interesting dimension is whether audiences and publishers favored the players’ full names or just their last names. Out of all player-related keywords, 30 keywords with 9,525 rankings contained a full name, while 40 keywords with 6,116 rankings included only the surname. This shows that although last names appeared more frequently in keyword variants, full names carried more weight in terms of visibility, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total player rankings. Using the full name seems especially powerful for high-profile players with common surnames like Williams or widely known first names like Naomi Osaka, where including both elements reduces ambiguity and aligns with how news outlets typically frame their coverage.

Matches (19 keywords, 1,502 rankings)

Match-specific keywords generated 1,502 rankings across 19 keywords, making up around six percent of the total dataset. These terms often reflect the audience’s interest in high-profile encounters or controversial matchups rather than the broader tournament narrative.

The most visible pairing was “taylor townsend jelena ostapenko” with 284 rankings, which directly ties back to the heated second-round match and the fallout from Ostapenko’s remarks. Other strong performers included “swiatek anisimova” (174), reflecting the quarterfinal where Anisimova upset the former World No. 1, and “djokovic alcaraz” (144), which mirrored the anticipation around the rivalry between the long-standing champion and the younger star. Several variations of Alcaraz vs. Sinner and Alcaraz vs. Djokovic also contributed to the list, showing how repeated matchups between top men’s players sustained visibility.

Women’s matches were also strongly represented, with combinations like “naomi osaka coco gauff” (114) and “vondrousova sabalenka” (56) drawing notable attention. These examples underline how both the men’s and women’s draws contributed compelling storylines.

Others (12 keywords, 2,688 rankings)

The “Others” category, while smaller in scope, still produced a notable 2,688 rankings across 12 keywords, about 10 percent of the total dataset. What sets this group apart is that it reflects off-court controversies and side stories rather than direct sporting action, highlighting how much cultural and political narratives can spill into US Open coverage.

The most visible single keyword here was “piotr szczerek” with 1,216 rankings. This surge connects directly to the viral incident where the Polish CEO was filmed snatching a signed hat from a young fan after Kamil Majchrzak’s match. The story spread quickly beyond sports media and drew heavy public backlash, later followed by Szczerek’s public apology and the cap being returned. Supporting keywords such as “us open hat” (66), “apologizes hat” (52), and “hat us open” (40) further underline how strongly this off-court scandal captured audience attention.

The second major storyline in this category revolved around Donald Trump’s presence at the tournament. Keywords like “trump open” (508), “open trump” (225), “trump u.s open” (223), “trump us open” (188), “open donald trump” (42), and “u.s open trump” (32) together highlight how his attendance at the men’s final and the mixed crowd reaction became part of the news cycle. Reports of broadcasters being asked to mute audience reactions added to the attention.

Publisher visibility on the 2025 US Open

While the keyword analysis shows which topics and names dominated the 2025 US Open in the News Boxes, the next step is to look at which publishers were most successful in gaining visibility from them. The following section is based on the same 117 keywords and covers the period from August 25 to September 10, 2025. The graph below from the Trisolute News Dashboard illustrates how the daily visibility shares of individual publishers developed across the tournament, making it possible to see who managed to sustain coverage over time and who spiked around single stories.

This part of the analysis focuses exclusively on news publishers. Social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit were excluded, even though they played a significant role and reached visibility scores of 5.51%, 5.30%, and 5.27%, respectively. They appear crossed out in the graph to acknowledge their impact, but they are not included in the detailed breakdown that follows.

Top 10 publishers on the 2025 US Open in US mobile News Boxes

1. The Athletic

   The Athletic achieved the highest overall visibility in the US mobile News Boxes during the 2025 US Open, with a share of 10.01%. Its peak came on September 9, when it reached 18.31%, driven by an article titled “Donald Trump drew boos and some cheers at the U.S. Open. Here’s what wasn’t shown on TV,” which was also the single most visible article across the entire analysis period.

   Looking at the daily course of visibility, The Athletic started strongly with 15.64% on August 25, followed by steady double-digit shares through August 27. After a dip at the end of the first week, the publisher maintained a solid presence, with another notable increase on September 3 (13.15%) and a strong showing on September 6 (11.23%). Its visibility remained consistent across the second week, culminating in the September 9 peak.

   In total, The Athletic generated 2,218 keyword rankings. Its five most ranked keywords were “us open” with 465 rankings, “us open tennis 2025” with 193, “naomi osaka” with 126, “taylor townsend” with 86, and “us open schedule” with 80. The semifinal pairing swiatek anisimova also stood out with 59 rankings. Together, these results show that The Athletic succeeded by combining coverage of the general tournament narrative with timely reporting on standout players and the political dimension of Donald Trump’s appearance.

2. New York Post

   The New York Post reached an overall visibility of 8.77% in the US mobile News Boxes, peaking at 20.37% on September 1. This peak was driven by the article “Polish CEO Piotr Szczerek, who snatched hat from boy at US Open, finally apologizes: ‘A necessary lesson in humility’,” which also turned out to be the most visible article across the entire analysis period.

   The course of visibility shows a gradual rise from the opening days, with strong double-digit shares beginning on August 30 (14.09%) and continuing on August 31 (16.27%), before culminating in the September 1 peak. After this moment, visibility steadily declined, reaching almost no presence by September 8 and 9.

   In total, the New York Post generated 1,762 keyword rankings. Its top keywords were “piotr szczerek” with 227 rankings, “taylor townsend” with 208, “us open” with 187, “naomi osaka” with 122, and “medvedev” with 83. “sabalenka” also contributed with 58 rankings. The New York Post’s coverage clearly benefited most from the hat-snatching controversy, which it owned during the first week of September.

3. Yahoo

   Yahoo held a visibility share of 6.27%, peaking on September 5 at 13.42% with the article “US Open: Carlos Alcaraz inches toward perfection after ousting Novak Djokovic to reach final.” Its most visible article overall, however, was “Polish Millionaire CEO Piotr Szczerek Reportedly Defends Snatching Kid’s Hat at US Open: ‘If You Were Faster, You’d Have It’,” showing how Yahoo covered both on-court and off-court narratives.

   The visibility course was mixed, with early spikes on August 25 (7.38%) and August 28 (7.74%), a stronger showing on August 31 (9.15%), and peaks in the second week with 13.42% on September 5 and 11.92% on September 9. This pattern illustrates how Yahoo maintained relevance at multiple points, reacting both to the Alcaraz–Djokovic storyline and to the ongoing fallout of the Szczerek incident.

   Across the period, Yahoo accumulated 1,398 keyword rankings. Its top keywords were “us open” with 124 rankings, “taylor townsend” with 93, “medvedev” with 91, “piotr szczerek” with 68, and “naomi osaka” with 62. “novak djokovic” added 50 rankings. Yahoo’s coverage balanced the mix of high-profile matches with viral controversies, keeping it consistently visible throughout.

4. ESPN

   ESPN reached an overall visibility of 5.89%, with its peak at 10.39% on August 29. The most visible article that day was “Townsend on Open rift: Proud of how I handled it,” which covered her response to the clash with Ostapenko. ESPN’s most visible article overall, however, was “Alcaraz bests Sinner to win US Open, sixth Slam.”

   The daily course shows a steady mid-range presence, with highlights on August 27 (8.07%), August 29 (10.39%), and September 4 (9.85%). The second week also showed a stable performance, with smaller peaks on September 8 (8.61%) and September 9 (8.89%). This indicates ESPN’s ability to maintain consistent tournament-long visibility by covering both controversies and key matches.

   ESPN generated 1,441 keyword rankings. Its top five were “taylor townsend” with 344 rankings, “us open” with 208, “venus williams” with 88, “sinner” with 67, and “us open tennis 2025” with 64. “alcaraz” also featured with 51 rankings. ESPN’s strength came from combining coverage of the Townsend controversy with comprehensive reporting on the later stages of the tournament.

5. CNN

   CNN recorded a visibility share of 5.76%. Its standout moment came on August 30, when it achieved 22.07%, the highest single-day visibility across all publishers. This peak was powered by the article “Naomi Osaka on Jelena Ostapenko’s comments to Taylor Townsend: ‘One of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player’,” which also ranked as the most visible article overall during the analysis period.

   CNN’s visibility course was defined by this spike, preceded by strong coverage on August 29 (18.84%) and followed by a sharp drop. Afterward, CNN returned to smaller but steady daily shares, including 11.39% on September 7. The fluctuation reflects how CNN dominated the coverage of the Townsend–Ostapenko controversy but did not sustain as broad tournament coverage outside of that storyline.

   In total, CNN had 1,251 keyword rankings. Its top keywords were “taylor townsend” with 396 rankings, “us open” with 178, “venus williams” with 76, “taylor townsend jelena ostapenko” with 69, and “jelena ostapenko” with 61. “tennis” also contributed with 43 rankings. CNN’s coverage illustrates how one dominant controversy can drive exceptional visibility, even if broader event coverage is less consistent.

6. Fox News

   Fox News secured a visibility share of 3.28%, with its peak of 10.42% on September 7. The most visible article at that point was “Carlos Alcaraz captures US Open title with Trump on hand,” while its most visible article overall was “American Taylor Townsend says she was told she has ‘no class, no education’ by opponent after US Open win”, showing that Fox balanced match coverage with the Townsend–Ostapenko controversy.

   Fox News showed scattered visibility, with early spikes on August 25 (5.53%) and August 28 (9.2%). Its presence dropped sharply afterward, only to return at the men’s final with its September 7 peak. This pattern suggests Fox focused coverage selectively, highlighting both Alcaraz’s victory and Trump’s attendance.

   The publisher generated 734 keyword rankings. Its top keywords were “us open” with 165 rankings, “taylor townsend” with 142, “medvedev” with 110, “naomi osaka” with 31, and “trump us open” with 31. “swiatek” added 18 rankings. Fox News’s results underline how mixing political angles with match outcomes helped secure its place among the most visible outlets.

7. BBC
   Last but not least, the BBC held a visibility share of 3.23%, peaking on September 3 at 9.11%. Its most visible article was “CEO who snatched boy’s hat at US Open says he made ‘huge mistake’,” which also ranked as the most visible article overall during the analysis period for the British publisher.

   Its course of visibility was moderate, with peaks on August 25 (3.95%), August 27 (3.85%), and September 3 (9.11%), followed by smaller shares later in the tournament. This shows how the BBC concentrated its coverage around the hat-snatching incident but did not sustain visibility across the event.

   Altogether, the BBC generated 675 keyword rankings. The top keywords were “piotr szczerek” with 113, “djokovic” with 102, “novak djokovic” with 98, “us open” with 48, and “venus williams” with 47. “swiatek anisimova” also featured with 43. The BBC’s visibility demonstrates the strong pull of off-court controversies, which often outperformed sporting narratives in driving attention.

Key takeaways from the 2025 US Open coverage

We have also covered the other Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, so check out these articles:

• Who Served Best? Wimbledon 2025 in UK Mobile News Boxes
• Serving SEO Wins: How UK News Publishers Reported on the French Open 2025
• Australian Open: Which Australian Publishers Served an Ace?

You’ve had enough of tennis? No worries, we’ve got plenty of other sports analyses for you:

• College Football Season 2024-25: A Visibility Breakdown Across the News Landscape
• NFL in the News Box: What Drove Visibility for the 2024-25 Season?
• 2025 NBA Draft: Top Picks and Publishers in US Mobile News Boxes
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• 2025 NFL Free Agency: ESPN Leads Early Visibility Race as Legal Tampering Heats Up

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