Amid retirement speculation, Serena Williams draws 2.7 mn viewers to ESPN

An average of 2.7 million people in the US tuned in to ESPN on Monday night to watch what could have been the last singles match of Serena Williams’s decorated tennis career.

The audience was the biggest ever for the first day of the tournament, according to ESPN. Fortunately for the network -- and tennis fans -- the 23-time Grand Slam champion prevailed in the first round at the US Open, postponing her retirement for at least 48 hours. Williams will face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit on Aug. 31.

ESPN, a division of Walt Disney Co., has exclusive rights to the