Overview
- ESPN aired a broadcast graphic Wednesday that was meant to show the five American women with the most Grand Slam wins before age 23 but displayed Serena Williams’s photo twice, placing it over Venus Williams’s name and removing Venus’s image from the list.
- Viewers reacted quickly on social media, calling the error unprofessional and disrespectful and posting screenshots that amplified criticism of ESPN’s live production quality.
- The graphic was intended to mark Coco Gauff’s rise on a list that ranked Venus (107) and Serena (103) ahead of Mary Joe Fernandez (93), Chris Evert (90), and Gauff (89), so the mistake undercut a segment meant to celebrate current and past American success.
- Observers noted this error followed other on-air mistakes and access complaints at the tournament, including a wrong national flag shown for Alexandra Eala and subscriber limits tied to ESPN Unlimited/Select.
- The blunder raises reputational risk for ESPN at a tournament it holds U.S. rights to and makes a public correction or explanation from the network the key next development to watch.