Revealed: Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon impact is laid bare by astonishing TV viewing figures despite brave defeat by world No 1

Emma Raducanu's stunning impact on Wimbledon's TV figures has been revealed.

More than five million viewers tuned in to watch British No 1 Raducanu bravely succumb to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in third-round drama on Friday night.

The enthralling contest was placed in a prime time slot on BBC One and became the broadcaster's third-highest rating for any non-final match in the last three years.

It also received the highest figure so far for this year's tournament.

Final figures reveal the showpiece, in which Raducanu narrowly lost out to world No 1 Sabalenka 7-6 6-4, was watched by a peak audience of 5.32million.

Raducanu's efforts received over 1.2m streaming requests on BBC iPlayer. 

The 22-year-old was also involved in the most viewed non-final match of the last four years in SW19, when she suffered defeat at the hands of qualifier Lulu Sun last year. 

That fourth-round tussle was seen by a peak audience of 5.47m while second on the list is Andy Murray's match against John Isner in 2022 with a figure of 5.34m.

The Beeb have trumpeted their impressive viewing figures at this year's Wimbledon. Indeed, over the first five days, more than 31m online streaming requests were logged - a staggering increase of more than 50 per cent in comparison to 2024.

Each of Raducanu's three matches this year drew large crowds, and the British favourite was determined to focus on the positives from her loss to Sabalenka.

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

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

Sabalenka was impressed by her opponent and tipped her to return to the top 10.

'I cannot predict anything, but I'm definitely sure that, maybe not in a month, but maybe a bit longer period, she's definitely going to get back to the top,' she said.

'She's fighting. She's playing much better. She's more consistent. I can see that mentally she's healthy. I think that's really important. 

'I'm pretty sure she's getting there. About the atmosphere… sometimes my ears were really blocked from how loud it was, but I really enjoyed it.

'I was trying to trick my brain, and I was pretending that people were cheering for me. Sometimes when they were screaming "Emma", it sounded like Aryna.'