NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Alexander Zverev of Germany and Ben Shelton of the United States shake hands following their Men’s Singles Final match on Day Fifteen of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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Despite being played in the middle of the opening Sunday of the NFL season, the U.S. Open men’s final between Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton averaged 3.2 million viewers on ABC, the largest viewership for that match since ESPN’s family of networks began televising the tournament in 2009.
Zverev won his second major title of 2026 and kept the American men’s drought at 23 years dating to Andy Roddick winning the U.S. Open in 2003. Shelton, the 23-year-old left-hander from Atlanta, was playing in his first major final.
The women’s final — won by new world No. 1 Elena Rybakina over Aryna Sabalenka — averaged 2.7 million and was up 13% from last year, ESPN said Tuesday.
The quarterfinals averaged 1.3 million viewers on ESPN. The latest-finishing match in U.S. Open history between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Shelton averaged 1.6 million, with 967,000 viewers staying with the broadcast even during the match’s final moments from 3:30 a.m. to 3:40 a.m. ET.
Shelton’s semifinal win over fellow American Frances Tiafoe averaged 3.1 million viewers and was the largest men’s semifinal audience for ESPN.
ESPN’s full US Open coverage averaged 1.2 million viewers, the largest audience since 2022.
(The AP contributed reporting)
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