Serena Williams' Wimbledon Return Sets TV Ratings Records Despite 1st-Round Loss

Serena Williams' first-round exit from the 2026 Wimbledon Championships wasn't enough to stop her from making ESPN broadcast history.

An average of 1.8 million viewers, with a peak audience of 2.1 million, tuned in to watch Williams' return to singles competition for the first time in almost four years.

That sent an all-time record for a first-round Wimbledon match aired on ESPN, according to the network.

Williams won Tuesday's second set in a tiebreak before conceding a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 loss to Maya Joint.

Williams, 44, last played a singles match during the 2022 U.S. Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion made her official return to competitive tennis by playing doubles with Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships in London.

Williams then played doubles alongside Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open before she was announced as a Wild Card entry at Wimbledon.

She said in a statement after her loss to Joint it felt "really great" to return to the All-England Club despite the first-round loss.