Wimbledon viewership numbers soared over the first seven days of competition this year compared to 2018 with the emergence of a new young star.
As world-famous athletes including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic remained in the fold, 15-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff grabbed the tennis world by notice.
That’s not an exaggeration — ESPN has stats to back that up.
Gauff had the most-watched singles match of the day in all four days she played.
The first match can in part be thanked to the numbers her opponent, Venus Williams consistently draws, but in putting together a challenge for the longtime star, Gauff kept viewers enthralled.
In taking down one of her idols, Gauff secured the viewership of fans all over for the remainder of her tournament.
Gauff’s final match, on Monday, averaged 1,123,000 people, and peaked at 1,225,000, according to an ESPN press release. That was the highest number of her run.
ESPN2’s coverage on Monday, which aired alongside ESPN’s “CrossCourt Coverage,” averaged 275,000 viewers, a 51% increase from last year (182,000).
Over the first seven days, ESPN viewership rose 29%.
There was an average of 799,000 viewers, according to Nielsen ratings ESPN acquired, an increase over last year’s 620,000 viewers.
Moving forward, Wimbledon’s semifinals are set.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams will take on Barbora Strycova and Simona Halep, who beat Gauff, will play Elina Svitolina.
On the men’s side, Nadal and Federer will face off and Djokovic will play against Roberto Bautista Agut.
