Stunning Emma Raducanu TV viewing figures cement surge in Wimbledon interest
Wimbledon’s appeal appears to be growing, with the BBC viewing figures for Emma Raducanu’s thrlling third round clash against Aryna Sabalenka confirming women’s tennis has mass appeal.
Raducanu’s latest Centre Court appearance attracted a peak TV audience of 5 million – the third-highest peak for a non-final match in 4 years behind only her own fourth-round clash with Lulu Sun last year and Andy Murray’s match against John Isner in 2022.
The match also dominated digital platforms, with over 1.2 million requests on BBC iPlayer, making it the most-streamed match of the day and reaffirming BBC Sport’s position as the UK’s go-to destination for live tennis.
So far, BBC Sport has recorded an incredible 31.6 million online requests for Wimbledon 2025, which is a 50 per cent increase year-on-year and the highest-ever digital engagement for the tournament’s opening week.
Raducanu’s impressive pulling power has boosted an impressive first week of viewing figures, with the opening day seeing a total of 7.3 million online requests, which is a huge increase from five million in 2024.
Fans were drawn in by watching Carlos Alcaraz’s epic five-set battle against Fabio Fognini, which set the tone for what has become a record-breaking start to the tournament.
“Wimbledon has the ability to mesmerise the nation, and the Sabalenka vs Raducanu match was one of those special moments that brought audiences to BBC Sport in their millions,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport.
“We’re proud to make these iconic and unforgettable sporting moments available to everyone free-to-air across TV, radio and online and there’s still plenty of drama to come in week two.”
Raducanu’s mass appeal continues almost four years after her US Open win in New York, but she admitted she was hugely disappointed to miss her chances in a 7-6(6), 6-4 defeat against Sabalenka.
“It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top,” said Raducanu.
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“Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence. At the same time, it’s very difficult to take right now.
“It gives me confidence that I’m not as far away as I perhaps thought before the tournament. I think previously when I was playing those top-5 players, it was pretty convincing, the loss.
“To really push Aryna to the top, it gives me confidence. But at the same time, like, I feel like grass for me is a great surface. It’s a bit of a leveller in that sense. So I think taking it onto a different surface, where it’s a lot more lively in America, is another challenge in itself.
“Positives were that I was toe to toe with her. Before the match, I actually went into this match feeling more confident than in previous matches against the top, but I think there is a big difference in the first serve.
“I think that’s something that I need to improve on. I don’t know. I’m, like, always quite critical, so I probably will just, like, right now come off and tell you all the things that I could do better. I think the good things,
“I took my chances when it was there. I didn’t execute all the time, but I think I returned really well considering she’s got one of the best serves in the game. But yeah, I need to work on my own serve.”
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