By Frank Dalleres
Carlos Alcaraz’s thrilling Wimbledon triumph attracted a peak audience of 11.2m viewers on BBC One – just short of the number who tuned in for the coronation of King Charles.
Alcaraz, 20, came from a set down to beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and win his first men’s singles title at the All England Club on Sunday afternoon.
BBC One’s live coverage, which lasted from 1pm to 7:10pm and included the build-up and trophy presentation, averaged 6.53m, an audience share of 58 per cent.
The peak of 11.24m came at 6:52pm as Alcaraz was wrapping up a 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory in an all-time classic final, according to industry monitor overnights.tv.
That was only slightly less than the 12.03m Britons who watched the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla on BBC One in May.
And the figure for Alcaraz’s Wimbledon title is set to swell when online audience numbers are released. The data does not include those who watched in pubs and public spaces.
The epic 2019 final in which Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets pulled in 9.6m UK viewers, although that was competing for a live audience with England’s Cricket World Cup final super-over win against New Zealand.
Rafael Nadal’s 2008 success in another five-set thriller with Federer attracted a peak audience of 12.7m.
Alcaraz’s win looks certain to be one of the most-watched broadcasts of the year in Britain.
The all-time UK record is held by England’s 1966 World Cup final triumph, which was watched by 32.3m, just ahead of the 32.1m who tuned in for the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana.
England’s European Championship final defeat to Italy in 2021 registered 29.85m, making it the fourth most-watched broadcast in British history.
