Serena Williams draws record viewership to US Open

The GIST: The Serena Williams effect is going strong. The 23-time Grand Slam champ opened her final US Open with a straight sets win on Monday, much to the delight of the crowd and Williams’ sponsors. Shine bright like a diamond-encrusted, figure skating–inspired outfit.

The turnout: Arthur Ashe Stadium hosted 29,402 onlookers for Williams’ first-round victory over Danka Kovinić, marking the largest-ever audience for a US Open evening session. The tournament also boasted its second-highest all-day attendance figure ever — 71,332 filled the USTA Billie Jean King Center on opening day.

• Fans at home also showed up. ESPN’s five-hour evening block drew 1.75 million viewers on Monday, up significantly from the 459K who tuned in last year to watch opening night headliner and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.

The tributes: Brands led the way in off-court celebrations. Williams’ longtime sponsor Gatorade changed its logo from the iconic “G” to an “S” on social media and lined up Serena’s close pal Beyoncé to narrate its “Love Means Everything” tribute. Nothing like female friendship.

• And Gatorade was hardly alone. Michelob ULTRA shared its own ad on Sunday night and just before the match, Twitter launched a new hashmoji of a goat playing tennis to honor the GOAT.

Zooming out: True to form, Williams’ farewell tour is blazing a trail for female athletes, especially Black female athletes, by driving record engagement. The US Open and ESPN are already reaping the rewards of Williams’ tennis swan song, and brands are poised to realize similar benefits.

• Luckily for Williams and her sponsors, her evolution from tennis is unlikely to impact her marketability and could even boost it.