French Open final between Zverev and Cobolli hit lowest viewing figures in the United States in 20 years

Viewing figures of the 2026 French Open final in the United States hit its lowest number of people watching for two decades as Alexander Zverev clinched the title in a five-set win over Flavio Cobolli.

Roland Garros this year was full of upsets and dramatic circumstances in which many of the top players were ousted early on. While this went on, Zverev and Cobolli avoided any issues to seal their spots in the final.

Zverev took the lead twice before Cobolli fought back each time and eventually forced a fifth set. Zverev held his nerve and broke ground, finally winning his first Grand Slam after countless attempts of trying. He can shrug that tag off with the German getting over the line in his fourth Grand Slam final.

While it was a thrilling tie, it did not intrigue all tennis fans to tune in, especially in the United States. It was exclusively broadcasted on TNT Sports over the two weeks of action in Paris. It showed the final live in what should be one of the biggest tennis days of the year.

The lineup did not intrigue many with just 1.3 million people tuning in. It is the lowest number of viewers in two decades, underperforming hugely. For context, it was a 25% decline from the enthralling final last year between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

A huge reason for these numbers is that a lot of tennis fans were hoping to see another final between Alcaraz and Sinner. Their clash last year still remains fresh in the memory of many tennis and even non-tennis fans in what was a classic major final.

Sinner would go two sets up and create three match points. None were taken as Alcaraz stormed back to win an insane clash for his fifth Grand Slam, and second at Roland Garros.

This rematch would not occur this time around following Alcaraz withdrawing from the Grand Slam with a wrist injury. Sinner would also not get anywhere near the final after collapsing in his second round contest against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. This may have had an impact on the viewing figures in the US.

Also, the lack of American involvement may have had something to do with it. The best performing American was Zachary Svajda who lost to Cobolli in the last-16 stage of the Grand Slam. Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton succumbed to early exits with Tommy Paul and Learner Tien unable to back up finals on clay just before.

Instead, it was Zverev and Cobolli who set up a very interesting final. It did not appeal to everyone apparently compared to last year's final of Alcaraz and Sinner. However, there were still storylines behind both players. Zverev was eyeing up a first Grand Slam and to finally end his misery in major tournaments to complete his collection of honours won in the sport. This was new territory for Cobolli who had bettered a Wimbledon quarter-final from last year. His best titles won were at ATP 500 level and still is after losing to the world number three in the final.

The next Grand Slam is soon coming up as the tennis make the switch to grass. Tournaments have started on the new surface this week with all roads leading to Wimbledon. The third major tournament of the year will still not have Alcaraz, but Sinner is the defending champion and determined to win a first major title of the year. The competition will be played from 29 June - July 12.