Serena Williams' final game becomes ESPN's most-watched
Please share this story:
By Gbenga Oloniniran
September 7, 2022
Serena Williams' loss at the US Open on Friday in the final match of her illustrious career was the most-watched tennis show in ESPN's 43-year history.
Her third-round loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York averaged 4.8 million viewers as of 7:15 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. ET and peaked with 6.9 million viewers at 10:15 p.m. quarter of an hour, reports the Daily Mail.
Williams played alongside her sister Venus and took the tennis world by storm when they emerged from the courts of Compton, California as teenagers and went on to dominate and change faces of this predominantly white sport.
Winner of 23 Grand Slam singles tournaments, Williams has transcended sport and her likely departure from competitive tennis to focus on growing her family and her business interests has prompted a flood of tributes from athletes, celebrities and politicians.
Serena has been hailed at home and abroad, with fans not caring about her latest defeat, but calling her the "greatest of all time".
“These are the most-watched first five days of the US Open ever on ESPN networks,” ESPN also said in a press release.
A spokesperson for the network, whose stable of tennis analysts includes former stars Chris Evert, John McEnroe and Caroline Wozniacki, told Reuters last week that the network would be happy to discuss the possibility to bring Williams into the broadcast booth if she wanted to go in that direction in retirement.
Williams revealed in an interview with Vogue last month that she plans to 'step away' from tennis and her appearance at Flushing Meadows is expected to be her last tournament.
>Williams is ready to focus more on herself. The 40-year-old said after her last game, "I'm ready to be a mom and explore a different version of Serena.
"And technically in the world, I'm still super young, so I want to have some life while I'm still walking," she added with a chuckle.
In his on-court interview, Williams appeared to leave the door slightly ajar for a comeback. When asked if that was the case, she replied, "I think so, you never know," before quickly leaving the court.
Daily reported that Williams passed Danka Kovinic in the first round of the Grand Slam before stunning world number 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday.
Please share this story:
By Gbenga Oloniniran
September 7, 2022
Serena Williams' loss at the US Open on Friday in the final match of her illustrious career was the most-watched tennis show in ESPN's 43-year history.
Her third-round loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York averaged 4.8 million viewers as of 7:15 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. ET and peaked with 6.9 million viewers at 10:15 p.m. quarter of an hour, reports the Daily Mail.
Williams played alongside her sister Venus and took the tennis world by storm when they emerged from the courts of Compton, California as teenagers and went on to dominate and change faces of this predominantly white sport.
Winner of 23 Grand Slam singles tournaments, Williams has transcended sport and her likely departure from competitive tennis to focus on growing her family and her business interests has prompted a flood of tributes from athletes, celebrities and politicians.
Serena has been hailed at home and abroad, with fans not caring about her latest defeat, but calling her the "greatest of all time".
“These are the most-watched first five days of the US Open ever on ESPN networks,” ESPN also said in a press release.
A spokesperson for the network, whose stable of tennis analysts includes former stars Chris Evert, John McEnroe and Caroline Wozniacki, told Reuters last week that the network would be happy to discuss the possibility to bring Williams into the broadcast booth if she wanted to go in that direction in retirement.
Williams revealed in an interview with Vogue last month that she plans to 'step away' from tennis and her appearance at Flushing Meadows is expected to be her last tournament.
>Williams is ready to focus more on herself. The 40-year-old said after her last game, "I'm ready to be a mom and explore a different version of Serena.
"And technically in the world, I'm still super young, so I want to have some life while I'm still walking," she added with a chuckle.
In his on-court interview, Williams appeared to leave the door slightly ajar for a comeback. When asked if that was the case, she replied, "I think so, you never know," before quickly leaving the court.
Daily reported that Williams passed Danka Kovinic in the first round of the Grand Slam before stunning world number 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday.
What's Your Reaction?
