A week’s worth of pent-up condemnation cannot change one simple fact: Serena Williams is carrying the sport of tennis on U.S. television.
Serena Williams’ loss to Naomi Osaka in last Saturday’s US Open women’s final delivered a 1.9 rating and 3.10 million viewers on ESPN, up 58% in ratings and 68% in viewership from last year all-American final (Sloane Stephens–Madison Keys: 1.2, 1.85M) and up 90% and 112% respectively from 2016 (Angelique Kerber–Karolina Pliskova: 1.0, 1.46M).
It was the highest rated and most-watched US Open women’s final since Williams’ previous appearance in 2014, which aired on CBS after NFL coverage (2.9, 4.5M). Regardless of gender, it was the most-watched since the 2015 men’s final, which aired on ESPN in primetime due to rain delays (3.15M).
Williams has now played in five of the ten most-watched US Open finals in the past decade, regardless of gender (20 telecasts).
With that said, the match was also the lowest rated and least-watched US Open final featuring either Serena or Venus Williams (10 telecasts), with the caveat that it was the first of those to air on cable.
Figures include post-match coverage, of particular interest this year given the bizarre — perhaps unprecedented — circumstances of the match. The chair umpire docked Williams a full game in the second set for disputing a rarely-enforced coaching violation.
Sunday’s Novak Djokovic–Juan Martin del Potro men’s final had a 1.3 and 2.07 million, up 34% in ratings and 39% in viewership from last year’s Rafael Nadal–Kevin Anderson final, the lowest rated US Open final on record (0.95, 1.48M), and up 18% and 24% respectively from 2016 (Stan Wawrinka-Djokovic: 1.1, 1.67M).
The complete US Open averaged 1.04 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2 (+9%), the highest average since 2015, when Williams attempted the calendar Grand Slam (1.27M). Five of the tournament’s six most-watched windows featured Williams.
[Numbers from ESPN PR; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 9.14]
