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US-Belgium at World Cup is most-watched soccer telecast in US history at 30M viewers, Fox says

The U.S. game against Belgium in the round of 16 at the World Cup set another record as the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history, Fox said after preliminary ratings came out Tuesday.

Fox said 30 million people watched the game, a 4-1 victory for Belgium on Monday in Seattle to move into the quarterfinals and eliminate the last of the tournament’s three co-hosts. Fox said audience peaked at more than 36.8 million people between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

That topped the previous mark, the U.S.-Bosnia-Herzegovina game last week that Fox said was watched by 26.4 million.

Fox on Tuesday also reported the 11.1 million viewers who tuned in to the Portugal-Croatia match in the round of 32 were the most in English language history in the United States for any World Cup game without the U.S. team, excluding the final. Fox said viewership peaked at more than 16 million for a wild finish.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Venus Williams bows out of her 26th US Open with a 1st-round loss to Sofia Kenin

NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams bowed out of her 26th U.S. Open singles appearance early Monday morning, falling in straight sets to fellow American wild card Sofia Kenin after not getting on the court until midnight. The 46-year-old lost 6-2, 7-6 (6) in what could be the final singles match at a Grand Slam, if not her illustrious career. It was Williams' 15th consecutive singles defeat dating to her last victory in Washington in July 2025. Williams has now lost six in a row at the U.S. Open since winning in the first round in 2019. With doubles coming up later this week with sister Serena, Venus was not ready to contemplate her future in tennis. “I don’t think I should have to,” Williams told a small group of reporters after the match. “My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
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