Chris Russo rips ESPN for hyping Serena Williams at Wimbledon: ‘Got her ass handed to her’

Serena Williams’ star power had ESPN fawning over her return to Wimbledon, but Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo refused to be hoodwinked.

At 44 years old, Williams returned from a long hiatus to play in her first professional singles match in nearly four years last month. She came back as a wild card, but just the thought of having Williams back in a major tournament had ESPN giddy, as it should have. One person who wasn’t giddy about seeing ESPN hype Williams’ comeback just so she could get beat in the opening round by 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint, however, was Chris Russo.

“They played up Serena Williams like you wouldn’t believe,” Russo ranted on SiriusXM about ESPN during his return from vacation Monday afternoon. “And then Serena got her ass handed to her. She lost her last five games to a kid who hadn’t won a match in six months, who then lost in the next round in the third set 6-0.

“You would have thought Serena was doing something heroic. I mean, take it easy, will ya? She came back to play a first-round match at Wimbledon after three or four years, lost to a person who hadn’t won a match on the pro tour since January. Can we take it easy? You would have thought with ESPN’s commentary that this was the greatest thing in the history of watching tennis. And I know the ratings were good, but that only shows you and tells you that Serena brings in the casual fan. Because I spoke to a million big tennis fans, a million of them, and they could care less. And a lot of them, by the way, worked at the network. Hijacking the whole thing, and she got beat.”

Imagine if one of the most popular tennis players in history attempted a comeback and ESPN downplayed it? ESPN knew a 44-year-old Williams had no real chance of going far at Wimbledon while playing in her first professional singles match since 2022. But if Serena Williams is playing professional tennis, people are going to make a big deal about it.

Much to Russo’s dismay, ESPN was proven right. Because, as Russo even noted, the ratings were good for Williams’ return. And they weren’t just good, they were record-breaking, with her opening round match averaging 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, helping the network achieve its biggest Day 2 audience ever at Wimbledon.

Williams’ return may not have been the best display of tennis, but it was the best way of luring casuals to watch Day 2 of the tournament. And ESPN would have made a massive mistake if they didn’t hype it.