Shockwaves are sweeping through Wimbledon like never before. Days 1 and 2 were packed with excitement, but not so much for the American players. Already, a total of 23 seeded players are out after just the first round: 13 men’s seeds and 10 women’s seeds, including No. 2 Coco Gauff and No. 3 Jessica Pegula. Did Day 3 bring more heartbreak to SW19?
It seems so! As the second round kicked off, more Americans were left in shambles after tough losses. On the ATP side, Frances Tiafoe fell to Cameron Norrie, Learner Tien lost to Nicolas Jarry, and Jenson Brooksby bowed out against João Fonseca. So far, it’s not looking good. Sports podcaster Joe Pompliano pointed out an interesting fact on X: “ESPN can’t be happy with the early results at Wimbledon. Americans Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Frances Tiafoe have all lost to unseeded players. Maybe another Alcaraz-Sinner final can save them.” But why?
Since Day 1, ESPN has been riding a wave of excitement, with Monday’s Wimbledon audience averaging 539,000 viewers. That’s a solid 37% jump from last year’s Day 1 crowd of 393,000. In fact, it’s the most-watched first day of Wimbledon in ESPN’s 22-year history of airing the tournament. Talk about a strong start!
ESPN can’t be happy with the early results at Wimbledon. Americans Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Frances Tiafoe have all lost to unseeded players. Maybe another Alcaraz-Sinner final can save them.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 2, 2025
But hold on, the road ahead might get bumpy. On Tuesday, two of America’s biggest tennis stars, Gauff and Pegula, were knocked out in the First Round. Coco, who just smashed a nearly decade-old French Open women’s final viewership record last month, has been a major draw for the sport. Losing her early could put a dent in the excitement and numbers.
This isn’t the first time Wimbledon’s viewership has taken a hit. Back in 2018, the men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson pulled in a 1.1 rating and 1.64 million viewers on ESPN. That was down 27% in ratings and 28% in viewers compared to the previous year’s Federer–Cilic final, which scored a 1.5 rating and 2.28 million viewers. It also dipped 27% and 25% from 2016’s Murray–Raonic matchup.
What made 2018 tough? The Wimbledon final went head-to-head with the FIFA World Cup Final on FOX and Telemundo, which drew a massive 17.8 million viewers. Wimbledon usually doesn’t face such fierce competition, especially since it airs in the morning. Could history repeat itself this year? Only time will tell! But right now, with more Americans being ousted, what could be the reason?
A look at why the US players could be struggling at Wimbledon
Wimbledon Day 2 was packed with drama. French Open champ Coco Gauff aimed to match Serena Williams’ rare “Channel Slam”—winning both Paris and London—but struggled on grass, where she has a 24-12 record. She lost in the first round to Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska. On the other hand, Jessica Pegula, fresh off her Bad Homburg title over Iga Swiatek, also struggled. She landed just half of her first serves and couldn’t find her rhythm. “It’s so frustrating when something you’ve been working on doesn’t come through when you want it to, especially on grass,” she said. There could be a reason the Americans are struggling.
Well, each tennis surface demands a different style, right? Clay favors long baseline rallies and strategy, grass rewards serve-and-volley, and hard courts—most common in the U.S.—offer a medium-fast bounce perfect for powerful groundstrokes and aggressive baseline play. American players grow up on hard courts, unlike Europe or South America, where clay dominates. Over half of ATP and WTA tournaments are on hard courts, about a third on clay, and just over 10% on grass.
This explains why countries with more clay courts produce more clay-court champions. In the U.S., California leads with 25% of the nation’s tennis champs, followed by New York and Texas at 10% each. The U.S. has roughly 270,000 tennis courts—16% of the world’s total—creating a huge tennis infrastructure. Grass courts are rare, but American and Australian players tend to dominate on them.
So, what about the Americans still at Wimbledon? Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova have made it to Round 3, keeping hopes alive. For more Wimbledon updates, check out the Live Blog!
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