Serena’s Swan Song – ESPN’s Most-Watched Tennis Telecast

Friday’s US Open Third Round match on ESPN – apparently the last in the remarkable career of Serena Williams, as she lost to Ajla Tomljanovich of Australia 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 – is the most-watched tennis telecast on record in ESPN’s 43-year history.  

An average of 4.6 million viewers (P2+) tuned in for the telecast from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.  The previous record of 3.9 million was for the 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship, when Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray, in ESPN’s first year with exclusivity and first-ball-to-last-ball coverage from London.

The Primetime telecast on ESPN was the best ESPN tennis telecast on record and was the most viewed telecast of the day for broadcast and cable networks in total viewers and all key male and person demos.  Serena’s match averaged 4.8 million viewers from 7:15 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. ET and peaked with 6.9 million viewers in the 10:15 p.m. quarter-hour.

Through the first five days of the US Open, an average of 1.1. million viewers tuned in to ESPN networks, up +101% versus 2021. These are the most-viewed first five days of the US Open on record on ESPN networks.