As major tennis tournaments continue to bring in more revenue from increasing popularity, big changes may be on the horizon.
A unified premium tour, similar to golf’s proposed LIV-PGA merger, would have the potential to eclipse previous media and sponsorship rights deals. With the Tennis Channel also growing and looking for new investors, a merger could help the sport capitalize on the large audiences tuning into tennis-related programming.
Ranking, reputation, and remuneration create marquee matchups that capture millions of viewers.
The most-watched tennis match of all time is the “Battle of the Sexes“, drawing a reported 50 million American viewers.
On September 20, 1973, Billie Jean King took on Bobby Riggs in one of the most anticipated exhibition matches in the history of the sport. Riggs, a notorious and self-proclaimed chauvinist, claimed he could beat top women’s tennis players. He was 55 years old and long retired.
His comments served to stir more discontent among women like King during the era of women’s demands for equal rights and representation. When Riggs beat highly-ranked Margaret Court in May of that year, King stepped up to fight for parity in tennis.
The two played for $100K in the Houston Astrodome in front of 30,000 live spectators, where King defeated Riggs in three sets out of five, and forever transformed the landscape for women’s tennis.
Second with 9.4 million viewers is the U.S. Open final in 2002 between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
The rivals played each other 34 times in their careers and five times in finals. In a rivalry stretching almost 20 years, this meeting would be their last. Sampras won in four sets for his fifth and final U.S. Open title, as he retired the next year.
Five of the 10 most-watched tennis matches involved Serena Williams.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner’s last career match at the 2022 U.S. Open drew 4.8 million viewers, good for sixth on the list.
Ranking The Most Watched Tennis Matches Ever
Here is the list of the top 10 most-watched tennis matches based on reported U.S. viewership. The list was compiled using historical data from SportsMediaWatch and ESPNPressRoom.
- Updated: July 10, 2024
| Ranking | Tournament | Matchup | Date | Reported U.S. Viewership |
| 1 | Battle of the Sexes (Exhibition) | Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs | September 20, 1973 | 50 million |
| 2 | U.S. Open | Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi | September 8, 2002 | 9.35 million |
| 3 | U.S. Open | Serena Williams vs Victoria Azarenka | September 8, 2013 | 6.17 million |
| 4 | U.S. Open | Venus Williams vs Serena Williams | September 8, 2015 | 6 million |
| 5 | Wimbeldon | Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick | July 5, 2009 | 5.71 million |
| 6 | U.S. Open | Serena Williams vs Ajla Tomljanovic | September 2, 2022 | 4.8 million |
| 7 | U.S. Open | Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu | September 7, 2019 | 4 million |
| 8 | Wimbeldon | Roger Federer vs Andy Murray | July 8, 2012 | 3.9 million |
| 9 | U.S. Open | Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit | August 31, 2022 | 3.6 million |
| 10 | U.S. Open | Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka | September 9, 2023 | 3.4 million |
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