Is it possible we could see a triple crown in horse racing and a grand slam in tennis in the same calendar year? With her victory over sister Venus last night in the US Open quarterfinals, Serena Williams is now just two wins away from history. There hadn’t been a triple crown winner in horse racing since 1978 until American Pharoah this year. The tennis drought hasn’t been quite as long, but the grand slam is still one of the most monumental feats in sports and hasn’t been done since Steffi Graf in 1988.
As was the case with American Pharoah, as we get closer and closer to history, more and more viewers are going to tune in. The latest chapter in the Williams Sisters rivalry drew a big number for ESPN and one of their highest tennis audiences on record – a 4.8 overnight rating. To put that in perspective, last year’s final between Serena and Caroline Wozniacki drew a 4.0 rating.
Last night’s US Open quarterfinal on ESPN –the much-anticipated 27th meeting between top-seeded Serena Williams and No. 23 Venus Williams –earned a 4.8 rating, peaking at a 5.6 from 10-10:15 p.m. ET. The entire 5:15 telecast (including a second match, Novak Djokovic over Feliciano Lopez) scored a 2.7 from Nielsen’s metered markets, the second best for tennis in ESPN history (any ESPN network). The only higher overnight rating for tennis was the 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship – Roger Federer over Andy Murray – with a 3.1. The 2.7 is 145% higher than the 1.1 earned by the same time slot last year.
Among the metered markets, West Palm Beach led the way with a 4.8 for the entire telecast, followed by New York (4.7), Atlanta (4.5), Richmond (4.1) and Washington DC (4.0) Eleven markets set a new high for tennis on an ESPN network: New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, Miami, Louisville, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Sacramento and Nashville.
It was also a record day for tennis on WatchESPN – the third of the US Open to date – with 612,000 users totaling 44.8 million minutes viewed. The previous best came Monday, with 447,000 users and 40.3 million minutes.
The victory leaves Serena just two wins shy of a true (calendar year) Grand Slam – a sweep of the sport’s four Major events – not accomplished since Steffi Graf in 1988. The women’s semifinals – including Williams vs. unseeded 32-year old Roberta Vinci – are on ESPN on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. The women’s championship is Saturday at 3 p.m.; the men’s semifinals – including No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 9 Marin Cilic, defending a Major title for the first time – are Friday at 3 p.m. with the championship Sunday at 4 p.m. – all on ESPN.
If Serena does make the final (and at this point there’s no reason to think why she wouldn’t) I would expect the women’s final on Saturday to draw an extraordinary rating. Yes, it’ll be up against college football, but this is history we’re talking about. The most watched women’s final of the last decade was 2013 (another Serena Williams triumph) with 6.17 million viewers. I’d think any sports fan would be willing to carve out some time that afternoon to say they watched Serena Williams win the grand slam and this year’s final could break 10 million. Who knows when we may get this kind of opportunity again, if ever.
[ESPN]
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