The Netflix Slam 2024 featuring Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz set an unprecedented ticket sales record in the United States. The exhibition event surpassed all American tennis events except the US Open in resale value numbers. This will surely ease Maria Sharapova’s fear of growing apathy and disinterest towards the sport in the USA.
Alcaraz and Nadal are two of the biggest stars in tennis right now. The fact that it was the latter’s return to the court after a two-month injury break made the Netflix Slam even more attractive. Additionally, Las Vegas has a large Hispanic population. Many Spanish fans were present in the stands as the two Spaniards battled it out.
The Michelob Ultra Arena was at capacity with fans filling the nearly 12,000-seater complex in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. This is a massive achievement considering this was a singular exhibition match and not an official tour competition. Also, Vegas is not a city where tennis is exactly popular. The city has famous MLB, NFL, and NHL teams but is otherwise much more famous for tourism and its casinos.
Outdoing Masters tournaments like Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Cincinnati Open is a commendable feat under these circumstances. As per the Las Vegas Review Journal, the demand for the Netflix Slam was so high that the average resale ticket value shot up to $464. Retail tickets started only from $88, hence marking an inflation of over five times. No other tournament in the USA, except the US Open, had such high average resale prices in the past year. For the Grand Slam, high demand meant resale tickets were priced at $588 on average.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz may have re-ignited the tennis culture in the USA
Nadal ensures large crowds wherever he goes. His return to the ATP Tour at the Indian Wells Masters further piqued interest in the Netflix Slam. Fans wanted to get a glimpse of how the 22-time Grand Slam champion is playing ahead of the ATP 1000 tournament. Alcaraz, in his own right, is a superstar name as well. Many fans look up to the duo as inspirations.
The Netflix Slam 2024 achieved immense success backed by Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal. The high demand for tickets, which outdid all important ATP and WTA events in the past year except the US Open, shows interest in tennis is still alive in the USA. Not long ago, Maria Sharapova had expressed her concern that the tennis culture is dying in the United States. She had claimed that while Coco Gauff’s 2023 US Open triumph received hype, not many American fans would be interested in where she was playing next.
Tommy Paul, one of the highest-ranked Americans on the ATP Tour right now, had echoed Sharapova. He remarked tennis was the ’20th most important’ sport in the USA. Paul, Sharapova, and other well-wishers of American tennis will heave a sigh of relief after seeing the response to the Netflix Slam in the USA.
