According to ESPN's viewership report, Venus and Serena Williams brought millions of fans back to tennis last week.
The sisters' doubles return at the 2026 US Open gave ESPN its best opening-round audience since Serena's final singles run in 2022. This year's tournament has so far averaged 846,000 viewers across the opening stretch.
Venus and Serena Williams Bump ESPN Viewership During 2026 US Open Return
Much of that surge traced to Friday night, when the sisters' first-round match against Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint headlined prime-time coverage. That window drew 1.1 million average viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, a 17% jump from the same slot last year. By 10:15 PM ET, the audience had swelled to 2.2 million, just as the three-hour match tightened.
But fans tuning in to see more Williams sister dominance left disappointed by the final score.
After forcing a third set, Serena and Venus built a 5-0 lead in the super tiebreak before Chan and Joint reeled off six of the next seven points to steal the 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(7) win.
"The atmosphere is super special," Joint said afterward. "You're not really going to get that again with many other players."
Saturday's ESPN viewership also climbed to 1.1 million on ESPN2, a 37% rise above last year's mark. That's a clear trend that confirms what the tennis world already knew: when the sisters play, viewers tune in.
