Serena Williams’ return ended last week in a first-round loss at Wimbledon. However, the sports world is still calculating the marketing value of her comeback.
“A spike in attention is inevitable. It’s the Williams sisters at Wimbledon. Ultimately, the cultural capital they bring outweighs that of any other player in the tournament by a distance,” said Sam Scott, Head of Commercial UK, Verve.
Williams lost to Maya Joint in a three-set thriller. After her loss, Williams skipped the mandatory post-match press conference due to a knee injury. A few days later, she withdrew from the doubles competition.
One match, yet Serena dominated the first week of Wimbledon coverage. Her return drew 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, driving the network’s biggest audience for a Day 2 at tGrand SlamESPN reported that the first-round loss drew the largest audience for a Tuesday match in the network’s Wimbledon coverage. Her scheduled doubles match got more coverage than many of the singles matches.
Wimbledon officials kept rescheduling her doubles match in hopes she could return. That’s part of the Serena effect. She brings gravitas to a first-round doubles match.
“It brings story, legacy and glamour, something that, in the eyes of the casual audience, the doubles competition lacks in comparison to the singles championships,” said Scott. “Commercially, it offers a valuable entry point to a less visible part of the sport, but the challenge is to turn this into long-term value.”
How Brands Benefit From Serena’s Comeback
As reported by Brett Knight, Forbes assistant managing editor, Serena didn’t return for the money. “Over the last 12 months, Williams has raked in $50 million before taxes and agent fees, according to Forbes estimates, about $5 million beyond her best year as an active player (without adjusting for inflation).
She and Venus represent several brands, including themselves. Serena’s return gives her sponsors opportunities to capitalize on added exposure.
“In order to do this, the return should lean less heavily on the nostalgia of seeing these stars again, but instead as a cultural moment that companies sport, culture, sisterhood and legacy into one story,” said Scott. “Women’s tennis is already on an upward trajectory in terms of attention and commercial value.”
Scott cited the WTA Tour’s broadcast growth. Its cumulative global audience hit a record 1.1 billion across broadcast and streaming in 2024, up 10 percent year on year, while attendance rose 15 percent to 3.5 million and official social followers grew 25 percent to 6.4 million, according to the WTA.
“Their story initially created this environment to make the women’s game feel bigger, more premium and more culturally resonant; perhaps their return can do the same for the doubles format,” said Scott. “Serena’s appearances at Berlin and Queens are key to this longevity. They created a narrative leading up to Wimbledon that gives it more context and value than an isolated wildcard pick.”
Sportico reported that recent Q Scores polling had her awareness levels at 70%. The only athletes that tracked higher: Michael Jordan (78%), Shaquille O’Neal (75%), Tom Brady (73%) and LeBron James (73%); Tiger Woods is also at 70%.
Note the absence of women on that list. More than any other female athlete, Serena moves the needle. With all the other tournaments going on, there is no way the Tennis Channel was featuring a first-round doubles match at a 500-level tournament, unless Serena was playing. Suddenly a first-round doubles match was top sports news at ESPN and BBC Sports. A double’s match discussed on ESPN’s PTI and First Take.
“It’d be naive to think this one-off wildcard pick will transform doubles in the same way decades of success and narrative from the sisters shaped women’s tennis as a whole,” said Scott. “But what it does do is give a gateway and a leg up for the format to kick on from.”
Serena’s Popularity Not Tethered To Events Or Results
“Even in this stage of their careers, Serena and Venus’ influence on the game is unmatched,” said Nick Jackman, Co-founder at 50 Sport, a London-based sports and entertainment agency. “Brandwatch data shows that conversation around the sisters jumped 79% in the week after their return was announced, from 14,204 to 25,403 mentions. While mentions of the women’s doubles tournament itself, stripped of any Williams reference, rose 147% over the same period.”
Yet, the spike in conversation is driven by “who the Williams sisters are, rather than where they are competing,” said Jackman. “The 147% rise is from 47 to 116 mentions, an increase of 69 in absolute terms, which is small set against the sisters’ rise of over 11,000.”
Jackman noted that when Serena’s singles wildcard was announced, the same pattern repeated: a spike around the sisters, but no corresponding lift for the doubles.
“This is because it is the athletes who carry the legacy and narrative that people are ultimately invested in. In the modern landscape, where sport operates as a form of entertainment, story outperforms competition,” said Jackman. “This is the problem for the women’s doubles: the sisters are bringing their huge cultural influence with them, but it’s not transferring to the competition in any way that suggests long-term growth. People are following two athletes, not an entire tournament, and this is crucial for stakeholders and potential investors, as the numbers need to be understood.”
Jackson said if interest in women’s doubles rises this summer, it will be a by-product of proximity to the Williams’ cultural capital, not a sign the format has a new audience that will return post-Williams sisters’ exit.
“It is a case of doubles needing the Williams far more than vice versa,” Jackson said. “They are not characters in the grand show of the women’s doubles championships; rather, the doubles championships are the setting for the next act of their show.”
Wherever the Williams sisters play next or if Serena plays singles again, expect buzz. Serena’s marketing appeal transcends sports and
