The 2026 US Open finished strongly for women’s tennis on American television.
Elena Rybakina’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final averaged 2.7 million viewers, according to ESPN, up 13 percent year over year. The audience peaked at 3.2 million between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m. ET.
It was ESPN’s largest audience for a US Open women’s final since 2023, when 3.4 million watched Coco Gauff defeat Sabalenka.
Two days earlier, the women’s semifinals had gone one step further by setting an ESPN record.
Women’s Semifinals Set an ESPN Record
The two semifinals averaged 2.2 million viewers, up 24 percent from 2025 and the largest audience ESPN has recorded for a US Open women’s semifinal session.
The peak came during Coco Gauff’s three-set loss to Rybakina, when viewership reached 2.6 million between 9:45 and 10 p.m. ET.
Earlier that evening, Sabalenka had beaten Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2.
The semifinal lineup itself was notable: No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Rybakina, No. 3 Pegula and No. 4 Gauff all made it through.
That gave ESPN four established names, two American players and a live World No. 1 battle at the business end of the tournament.
Gauff-Rybakina Delivers the Semifinal Peak
The strongest semifinal audience came as Gauff tried to keep her US Open run alive against Rybakina.
Gauff took the opening set before Rybakina recovered to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach her first US Open final.
The match also carried a ranking subplot. Rybakina had already done enough during the tournament to secure the World No. 1 position from Sabalenka.
By the time she reached championship weekend, the television audience had therefore watched both a Grand Slam run and a change at the top of the WTA rankings develop together.
Rybakina-Sabalenka Gives ESPN Its Best Women’s Final Since 2023
The final offered a different kind of attraction.
Sabalenka was playing her fourth consecutive US Open final and chasing a third straight title. Rybakina was appearing in her first New York final after securing the No. 1 ranking.
Their three-set match held an average audience of 2.7 million and reached its 3.2 million peak late in the contest.
Rybakina ultimately won her first US Open title and third Grand Slam singles crown.
For ESPN, it was the network’s best women’s championship audience at Flushing Meadows since the Gauff-Sabalenka final three years earlier.
Serena and Venus Still Pull a Seven-Figure Audience
One of the earlier women’s storylines also produced a strong number.
Serena and Venus Williams’ doubles appearance during third-round primetime averaged 1.2 million viewers and peaked at 2.2 million between 10 and 10:15 p.m. ET.
The sisters lost in three sets to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint, but their appearance helped lift a third round that averaged 1.1 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, up 27 percent from last year.
It was another reminder that the Williams name still carries significant television weight.
Women’s Tennis Helps Power ESPN’s Strongest US Open Since 2022
Across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, the tournament averaged 1.2 million viewers, up four percent year over year and ESPN’s best overall US Open audience since 2022.
The men’s final produced the largest single average of the tournament at 3.2 million, but the women’s side delivered several of ESPN’s standout numbers:
- 2.7 million for the Rybakina-Sabalenka final
- 2.2 million for the women’s semifinals
- 2.6 million at the Gauff-Rybakina semifinal peak
- 1.2 million for Serena and Venus Williams in doubles
The striking part is that the final did not include an American player.
Gauff helped drive the semifinal peak, but Rybakina and Sabalenka still held a substantial audience the following day on the strength of their rivalry, the title stakes and the change at the top of the rankings.
A Strong Finish for the WTA in New York
Television numbers are shaped by scheduling, network placement, match length and American interest, so no single figure tells the whole story.
Taken together, though, the 2026 US Open figures give the WTA a strong set of numbers to leave New York with.
The women’s semifinals set an ESPN record.
The final rose 13 percent from 2025.
And a championship match without an American still averaged 2.7 million viewers.
The draw supplied familiar names deep into the tournament, a live No. 1 race and a three-set final between the top two seeds.
For women’s tennis on American television, that proved more than enough to hold an audience.