INCREDIBLE. Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams and their record viewers

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are among the most followed tennis players in the US. While Serena has been an icon for so many years, it seems more and more plausible that Naomi is taking her mantle.

Naomi and Serena clashed in a highly anticipated semifinal at the recent Australian Open, with Naomi winning in straight sets. Serena looked distraught after the match to end her following press conference in tears.

THE ESPN VIEWERS

Besides the unfavorable result, Serena can still be happy because she can still draw a huge audience, especially in the US (also thanks to Naomi).

According to a recent report, the semifinal between Serena and Naomi averaged 1.41 million viewers on ESPN2. The match had even a peak of 1.63 million for the final 15 minutes from 11:15-11:30 PM ET.

The entire telecast lasted until 2 AM ET and it averaged 806,000 viewers. That represents the most-watched Australian Open window since the 2017 famous Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer men’s final (1.09 million viewers).

In addition, it was the most-watched semifinal telecast since 2017 when Serena and Venus won their semifinals (1.01 million viewers).

Naomi Osaka in 2021

At the moment ranked no.3, Osaka played her last match on the 20^th of February when she defeated Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win her 7^th career title.

At present, during this year, Osaka owns a 10-0 record. The Japanese clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.

Serena Williams in 2021

Currently the world no.11, the American played her last match on the 18^th of February when she was overcome by Naomi Osaka 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).

This year Serena Williams has a compiled 8-1 match record. Serena Williams’s best performance of this year was getting to the semifinal in Melbourne and at the Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams clashed against each other 4 times. The head to head is 3-1 for Osaka. The last time they squared off, Naomi Osaka won 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 18^th of February 2021.

You can watch the highlights in the following video.