Emma Raducanu drives incredible BBC viewing figures as Brit makes huge impact

The BBC have announced that Emma Raducanu's brave defeat to Aryna Sabalenka on Friday night drew a peak audiance of five million viewers. That figure is the third-highest peak for a non-final since Covid. Around 1.2m tuned into the tie via iPlayer.

Raducanu's fourth-round loss to Lulu Sun last year surpassed that mark, as did Andy Murray's four-set defeat to John Isner here in the second round in 2022.

Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, said: "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.

"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 was given the prime Friday night slot by Wimbledon organisers and she duly delivered the entertainment. The 2021 US Open winner took the world No.1 to a tiebreak in the first set, which she lost 8-6.

Hope grew inside Centre Court of Raducanu forcing a decider as she stormed into a 4-1 lead in the second set. But Sabalenka proved her Grand Slam-winning pedigree, winning the next five games in a row to crush British hearts.

"It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top. Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence," she said.

"At the same time, it's very difficult to take right now.

"I gives me confidence that I'm not as far away as I perhaps thought before the tournament. I think before previously when I was playing those top-5 players, it was pretty convincing, the loss. So I think today to really push Aryna to the top, it does give me confidence.

"But at the same time, like, I feel like grass for me is a great surface. It's a bit of a leveler 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."

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