STARNBERG, November 28, 2022 (by Jane C.)
Whether you’re a fan of the red clay of Roland Garros in France or the grassy courts of Wimbledon, tennis is a true spectacle. Here, athletes are not only testing each other’s patience and skill but also stamina and resilience.
While baseball is the favorite pastime of every American household, the viewing patterns show a deviation in favor of other sports. Basketball and the NBA continue to dominate, but soccer and tennis are catching up.
Increase In Viewership For Tennis In America
According to the report on streaming trends, the number of Google searches for the term “stream tennis” has also seen an uptick. One of the major tennis highlights of the year so far has been the Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal finals. Two players that are arguably the greatest to ever play the game from our current generation generated a great deal of interest.
In the period of one year from August 2021 – July 2022, the French Open quarter-final between Nadal and Djokovic was the most searched tennis event. May 31, 2022, generated the most searches from people for ‘tennis streaming.’
As sports streaming becomes more accessible and streaming services in America sign deals with bigger sports organizations, the viewership of tennis will only increase. ESPN has been the major player in sports streaming. With rights to US Open Tennis as well as Wimbledon, viewers will have the opportunity to watch more high-quality tennis events online.
WTA, the leading authority in women’s tennis, predicts a global viewership of 900 million people, with 300 million coming from digital and online streaming. If viewing trends are to be believed, tennis will soon cross the billion mark.
ESPN also broke a few good records in 2022. The opening ceremony and telecast of the first day of the US Open in 2022 became the most-watched opening day US Open telecast ever. Later in the year, Serena Williams’ farewell match brought them 4.3 million viewers and officially became the most streamed tennis event in ESPN’s history. It will be interesting to see how will big American streaming names respond to these tennis–related trends in the future.
With interest in sports streaming going through ebbs and flows, it’s not surprising that the most interest generated for tennis is only during WTA matches. The Australian Open starts off the year followed by Wimbledon, French Open, and then the US Open. As new stars emerge, tennis will surely see its popularity in the US rise even more!
