“Leylah Fernandez stands out as the tennis player garnering the most affection from fans in response to online articles, closely followed by Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.”
Canadian Fernandez, who finished runner-up to Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open final, is second on the list of athletes who receive the most “love reactions” to online content about them.
Earlier this week, a list of the most Googled female athletes from September 2022 to August 2023 was released with four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek at No 1, Gauff at No 2 and Raducanu at No 3. There were six tennis players in the top 20 with Fernandez at No 11.
The company – OLBG – also analysed data about article sentiment “to see how an athlete is perceived in the media”. A press release stated that they “used Buzzsumo to find what percentage of reactions to coverage of each athlete are love reactions”.
Australian golfer and two-time LPGA major winner Minjee Lee came out top with 91% love reactions from fans with Fernandez receiving 87% love reactions and reigning US Open champion Gauff joint-third on 86%.
Fernandez enjoyed a meteoric rise as she reached the final of the 2021 US Open in only her second appearance at the event, but ended up losing against Raducanu. She rose to a career-high No 13 in the WTA Rankings last year, but a serious foot injury curtailed her season.
She has found some form again during the latter half of the 2023 season as she won her third career title at the Hong Kong Open in October.
Gauff, meanwhile, has been touted for stardom since 2019 when she qualified for Wimbledon at the age of 15. However, she has taken her game to another level this year as she won her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open.
The top 20 features eight tennis players with Swiatek joint-eighth while 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal is the first male tennis player on the list at joint-12th alongside Naomi Osaka. Raducanu sits at 16th along with Jessica Pegula while two-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz completes the top 20.
Article sentiment (love reactions) top 20 list
1. Minjee Lee Golf Australia 91%
2. Leylah Fernandez Tennis Canada 87%
3. Coco Gauff Tennis United States 86%
3. Chun In-Gee Golf South Korea 86%
5. Candace Parker Basketball United States 85%
6. Lydia Ko Golf New Zealand 82%
7. Sam Kerr Soccer Australia 81%
8. Miguel Cabrera Baseball Venezuela 78%
8. T.J. Watt NFL United States 78%
8. Iga Swiatek Tennis Poland 78%
8. Simone Biles Gymnastics United States 78%
12. Rafael Nadal Tennis Spain 76%
12. Naomi Osaka Tennis United States 76%
14. Jayson Tatum Basketball United States 75%
14. Jrue Holiday Basketball Dominican Republic 75%
16. Stephen Curry Basketball United States 74%
16. Emma Raducanu Tennis United Kingdom 74%
16. Alexia Putellas Soccer Spain 74%
16. Jessica Pegula Tennis United States 74%
20. Carlos Alcaraz Tennis Spain 73%
