Serena Williams’ goodbye to U.S. Open a ratings boon to ESPN

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It could have been just one night, but Serena Williams’ exit from tennis turned into a boon for ESPN. The network had four prime-time nights of tennis last week, with the three Williams singles matches and her doubles match with sister Venus. Serena’s third-round defeat at the hands of Ajla Tomljanovic had the largest audience of any tennis match in ESPN’s 43-year history, beating the 2012 Wimbledon men’s final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray. ESPN officials say they hope for a “halo effect” from Williams’ last run before retirement that will boost the ratings for the rest of the Open.