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 US Open under an 11-year deal that began in 2015. Williams’s pending retirement has generated extra hype around this year’s event, offsetting what could have been sluggish viewership due to Novak Djokovic being unable to play due to his refusal to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

A record 29,402 fans were on hand at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to see Williams beat Danka Kovinic in straight sets on Monday. Her appearance sent ticket prices soaring.