The 2024 Australian Open has generated more social media buzz this year compared to the previous year, Meltwater has revealed.
The hype took off in mid-January and was spiked by a 1108% rise in mentions and over 1.5 million mentions of the topic so far. Meanwhile, the analysis found daily average mentions of 63.3K mentions were up from 63.2K.
Meltwater analysed data from billions of social media conversations across X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitch and Chinese social channels WeChat, Douyin and Red to identify the top influencers and most talked-about players in this year’s tennis tournament.
Among the most talked about subjects were Novak Djokovic’s wrist injury and Rafael Nadal’s hip surgery.
The platform saw increasing interest in the diversity of players such as Renata Zarazua, the first Mexican woman, and Sumit Nagal, the first Indian man, trending across social media channels, with the Australian Open’s tweet on Zarazua’s entry making history receiving 341K views.
Meltwater also tracked data through its Klear Influencer Marketing tool, which scores social profiles out of 100 based on the number of followers, engagement, true reach and audience quality, to analyse tennis stars social media profiles.
The tool found that while Carlos Alcaraz Garfia may not have the highest number of followers (5.3 million), he was ranked third behind Djokovic and Federer when it came to the top tennis influencers.
Djokovic was clearly out in front with 34 million followers and 319K mentions, as Alex de Minaur’s loyal Australian following also saw him receive 70.5K mentions during the Australian Open, with his exit from the tournament resulting in his highest performing post.
Out of the women’s players, Aryna Sabalenka with 1.3 million followers and Naomi Osaka with 4.9 million followers have both received the most mentions, with her Instagram post about her return to the Australian Open as a new mum being her followers’ most engaged content during the tournament.
Ross Candido, VP ANZ and SEA at Meltwater, said that with key sporting events like the Australian Open it is essential for brands to be equipped with the tools to effectively measure their brand building investments.
“This entails not only engaging with the right players through strategic influencer partnerships, but also keeping their finger on the pulse by monitoring trending topics and global engagement across diverse demographics.
“Tapping into data-driven insights will empower brands to achieve greater success and establish a stronger resonance with their target audience,” said he added.
Among the sponsors getting their brands and messages across are headline sponsor Kia with 15.4K mentions and a 73% share of voice (SOV) across the four major and associate sponsors.
Meanwhile, new entrant New Balance jumped ahead of Louis Vuitton with 872 mentions to Vuitton’s 455 thanks to its partnership with one of the key female players and influencers, Coco Gauff, according to the Meltwater data.