US Open Serves Up Record Ratings for ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery

The 2025 US Open smashed viewership records in the U.S. and Europe, delivering huge audiences for broadcasters ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery fueled by a new generation of tennis stars.

• A stateside smash: In the U.S., the men's final was a certified hit, drawing an average of 3 million viewers on ABC, an 82% spike from last year. The women’s championship wasn't far behind, capturing 2.4 million viewers for a 50% year-over-year gain.
• A European ace: The viewership boom wasn't limited to North America, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Eurosport 1 seeing its audience jump 32% across the continent. On WBD's streaming service HBO Max, the number of subscribers watching the tournament surged 86% year-over-year, with tennis accounting for 45% of all sports viewership on the platform in Europe.
• Deep bench strength: The strong viewership wasn't just for the finals. In the U.S., the quarterfinals delivered their largest audience in a decade. The trend held in Europe, where a quarter-final match featuring Polish star Iga Swiatek actually drew the biggest audience of the tournament for Eurosport.

With ratings highs for early rounds and non-championship matches, it's clear the sport's new head-to-head battles are becoming a major draw, promising a strong post-"Big Three" era for tennis. The US Open’s success came during a blockbuster week for live sports, as the NFL's opening weekend delivered record ratings for CBS, college football saw its best start in nearly two decades, and Formula One set new U.S. viewership records.