Strong ESPN U.S. Open TV Ratings Showcase Fascinating Comparisons

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

The television ratings for the ESPN networks for the 2026 U.S. Open were released by the network and they were impressive.

Sunday’s US Open men’s singles final between Ben Shelton and eventual champion Alexander Zverev attracted an average audience of 3.2 million viewers on ABC, the largest viewership on record since ESPN began televising the tournament in 2009, the network said. Viewership peaked at 4.0 million from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

Compared that to ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage from earlier in the year when world No. 1 Jannik Sinner also posted a four-set win over No. 2 Zverev and averaged 2.4 million viewers, down 16% from 2025, when Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in five sets and up 10% vs. 2024 (Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic).

Saturday’s U.S. Open women’s singles final, won by Elena Rybakina over Aryna Sabalenka, averaged 2.7 million viewers, peaking at 3.2 million from 6:30-6:45 p.m, according to the ESPN press announcement. The audience was up 13% year-over-year and was ESPN’s largest since 3.4 million watched Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in 2023. By comparison, the Wimbledon women’s final a three-set victory for No. 9 Linda Noskova over No. 10 Karolina Muchova averaged 1.9 million viewers, an increase of 48% compared to last year and ranking as ESPN’s most-viewed women’s championship ever.

The All-American Friday night U.S. Open men’s semifinal match between Shelton and Frances Tiafoe averaged 3.1 million viewers, peaking at 3.7 million between 10:45-11 p.m., the largest men’s semifinal audience on record for ESPN. The earlier semifinal match with Zverev defeating Karen Khachanov averaged 1.2 million, with the two semifinals combining to average 2.2 million viewers, up 19% year over year.

Overall, the event ranks as ESPN’s most-viewed US Open since 2022. The two-week long tournament across ESPN networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2) averaged 1.2 million viewers, a 4% increase year over year. The men’s and women’s U.S. Open finals combined to average 3.0 million viewers, up 9% year over year. At Wimbledon, the two-week long tournament across ESPN networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2) saw an 18% year-over-year increase, averaging 853,000 viewers.

A deeper dive at the ratings revealed something interesting in that the TV ratings for the conclusion of the Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton quarterfinals match, that ended at 3:33 am saw 967,000 viewers at its conclusion from 3:30 am to 3:40 am. The entire match averaged 1.6 million viewers.

What’s fascinating about that is that it is a higher rating than TNT garnered for the Roland Garros women’s singles final between Mirra Andreeva and Maja Chwalinska drew 826,000 viewers.