Top 10 Viral Moments from the US Open

WatchMojo

We're serving up epic, heartwarming, and shocking moments from the history of the U.S. Open! Welcome to WatchMojo and today, we’re counting down our picks for the US Open moments that had the world in a spin.

Transcript

00:00Excitement in the air and I'm looking forward to this match as much as anyone I think.

00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks

00:07for the U.S. Open moments that had the world in a spin.

00:10But as Mark Twain once said,

00:12reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

00:17Number 10.

00:18This is cinema.

00:19On August 28th, 2024, the official U.S. Open Tennis Championship account tweeted out

00:25what was possibly an awkward view into the personal life of a poor random U.S. Open attendee.

00:34The video, which now has over 27 million views,

00:37shows a man returning to his seat with two drinks.

00:40He sits down and appears to reach out to hand one of the beverages to the woman beside him,

00:45before another man beats him to it.

00:48This is cinema, reads the caption posted alongside the video.

00:51Personally, we'd rather watch challengers.

00:55Number 9.

01:00Sampras and Agassi's most iconic match.

01:03Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have one of the most iconic rivalries in tennis,

01:07one that led to more than a few memorable matches.

01:14But there's a reason their 2001 quarterfinal match

01:18is still considered one of the greatest ever played at the U.S. Open.

01:22While neither player was in their prime,

01:24they defied odds and delivered an exceptional display of tennis.

01:29Every single set of the match was decided by a tiebreak,

01:32resulting in an incredibly tense game that eventually went to Sampras.

01:36As he said after defeating his rival,

01:38quote,

01:39it was probably as good as it gets.

01:50Number 8.

01:50Goff vs. Osaka.

01:52In 2019 at 15,

01:55Coco Goff made her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut

01:58and was defeated in straight sets by then-defending champion Naomi Osaka.

02:12Left in tears following the match,

02:14she was comforted by her opponent.

02:16In a post-match press conference,

02:17Osaka stated that she wanted to give Goff the opportunity

02:20to address the fans who came to see her play.

02:38Years later,

02:39Goff had not forgotten,

02:41shouting her out in 2023 following a win over Karolina Mukhova

02:45that landed her a spot in her first U.S. Open final.

02:48Goff shouted out Osaka's gesture after the match.

03:05During the 2024 U.S. Open,

03:07video was posted to social media

03:09that seems to show Yulia Puchintseva ignoring a ball girl

03:12throwing balls in her direction during a match against Jasmine Paolini.

03:15The footage was retweeted by six-time major winner Boris Becker,

03:19who expressed that Puchintseva's behavior toward the ball girl was quote,

03:23terrible.

03:24On her own Instagram account,

03:26Puchintseva responded to the controversy.

03:28She said she was deep in her own thoughts

03:30and wasn't trying to humiliate or disrespect the ball girl

03:33and ultimately apologized.

03:42She also added that quote,

03:43It's kind of scary the way the world can judge someone

03:46from just a three-second video.

03:51In the 2011 U.S. Open semifinals,

03:53Novak Djokovic was down two sets against tennis great Roger Federer.

04:01It seemed unlikely he would be able to turn things around,

04:04but he did,

04:05delivering an improved performance and winning the entire match.

04:09From there,

04:10he went on to beat defending champ Rafael Nadal

04:12and emerge victorious in the final.

04:14What's extra remarkable

04:16is that Djokovic had pulled off a similar feat a year prior,

04:19reaching the final at Flushing Meadows

04:21after saving two match points in the final set.

04:23It was also the second time in 2011

04:26Federer lost after winning the first two sets,

04:29following a loss to Joe Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon.

04:32What a sensational performance and what an amazing win.

04:35Yeah, it was just amazing today. I played unbelievable.

04:40Former tennis star Maria Sharapova

04:43is remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.

04:46It's always very interesting to note

04:47what players are doing early in the match.

04:49But that doesn't mean her illustrious career

04:51was without controversy.

04:53Take this particularly bizarre instance

04:55from the 2006 U.S. Open.

04:57During a match that saw Sharapova win her second Grand Slam title,

05:00her father was spotted on more than one occasion

05:03holding a banana.

05:04On the screen there is Yuri Sharapova, Maria's father.

05:07Always intense.

05:08The tennis player insisted that her father

05:10was only doing what a good father does

05:12by trying to remind her to eat during the final.

05:14That didn't stop the rumors from spreading,

05:16with Sharapova and her father being accused

05:19of using the banana for secret coaching tactics.

05:22She's gonna go up and get a hug from dad

05:23as she did at Wimbledon.

05:27At the 2006 U.S. Open,

05:29Billie Jean King was honored opening night

05:31at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the renaming

05:33of the United States Tennis Association Stadium Complex

05:36to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

05:50Alongside a jubilant New York crowd

05:52and several of her fellow tennis stars,

05:54King appeared incredibly proud

05:56as the facility was rechristened.

05:58Even then-Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg

06:00was there to deliver some remarks,

06:02and singer Diana Ross treated the audience to a performance.

06:13All in all, it was an extravagant

06:15and very well-deserved celebration

06:17of a groundbreaking and exceptional athlete.

06:23Between 2004 and 2008,

06:26Roger Federer was an untouchable titan,

06:28winning five consecutive U.S. Open titles.

06:41Federer is the only male player

06:42in the Open era to pull off this feat,

06:45winning 40 consecutive matches

06:46at the U.S. Open in the process.

06:48Some have gone so far

06:50as to call the record unbreakable.

06:56Did we mention that this guy

06:58pulled off five straight Wimbledon titles as well?

07:01And these are just two of his accomplishments.

07:03Federer holds a bounty of other records as well,

07:05including 30 from Guinness World Records.

07:15At the 2014 U.S. Open,

07:18Serena Williams once again made history

07:20by securing her sixth title win,

07:22her third consecutive at the time.

07:26With this remarkable feat,

07:35she became tied with Chris Evert

07:36for most wins by a woman at the Open.

07:39This was also her 18th major win,

07:42again putting her on par with Evert,

07:44along with fellow tennis legend Martina Navratilova

07:46for most U.S. Open singles titles

07:48won by a woman in the Open era.

07:56Winning both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Open Series,

07:59Williams netted $4 million.

08:02That is the biggest payday

08:03in the history of the sport.

08:05Four years later,

08:06Serena was the subject of another viral U.S. Open moment

08:10when her outburst against an umpire

08:11was caught on camera.

08:13Are you kidding me?

08:15Are you kidding me?

08:16Because I said you're a thief.

08:18Because you stole a point from me.

08:20But I'm not a cheater.

08:21Before winning the U.S. Open,

08:23Serena was the first woman

08:25Before we unveil our top pick,

08:27here are some honorable mentions.

08:29Pete Sampras' career closer.

08:32Sampras recovered from tournament drought right in time,

08:34making it to the final.

08:36The 2002 U.S. Open Men's Singles Champion,

08:39Pete Sampras.

08:45Despite exhaustion,

08:47Henault took home the title in a memorable match.

08:49And she's done it.

08:52Justine and Arden.

08:53A victory for moms everywhere.

08:56Leaving tennis in 2007 to start a family,

08:58Kim Clijsters returned in 2009 to capture the title.

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09:27In 2001,

09:28the women's final was showcased in primetime

09:31for the first time ever at the U.S. Open,

09:33a signifier of how far the women's game had come at the time.

09:40It was a grand slam clash between sisters,

09:43the first of many to come,

09:44as Venus and Serena Williams duped it out

09:47in a display that needed as many eyes on it as possible.

09:52Since then,

09:53women's tennis has come to even more prominence,

09:56in no small part thanks to the continued success

09:58of the Williams sisters on the court,

10:00alongside several other incredible female players.

10:12Did we miss your favorite moment?

10:14Lob it to us in the comments.

10:17Did you enjoy this video?

10:30Check out these other clips from WatchMojo

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10:47you

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