Serena Williams' likely final U.S. Open appearance was watched by a record audience for an ESPN tennis match, the sports service reported Tuesday.
More than 4.6 million viewers tuned in to ESPN on September 2 to watch Williams, who last month announced the U.S. Open would most likely be her final tennis competition, lose her match against Ajla Tomljanovich in a three-set thriller. The mark is the most ever for a tennis match in ESPN's 43-year history, beating the previous record of 3.9 million viewers for ESPN's 2012 coverage of the Wimbledon men's final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
The match peaked with 6.9 million viewers in the 10:15 p.m. quarter hour, according to the network. Overall, Williams' three televised U.S. Open matches helped ESPN average 1.1 million viewers across its first five days of U.S. Open telecasts, a 101% increase compared to 2021 and the most-viewed, first five days of the U.S. Open on record for the ESPN Networks, according to the company.
ESPN will continue with coverage of the U.S. Open throughout the week, with the finals of the men's and women's championships airing this weekend. ■
