An average live audience of 1.36 million people watched the tennis Grand Slam, up 17 per cent on the previous tournament benchmark set during 2012.

The women's final - a three-hour contest which saw Russia's Maria Sharapova overcome Romanian Simona Halep in a deciding set - was the most watched women's tennis match in Eurosport's history.

It attracted an average live audience of 3.8 million viewes, a 24 per cent rise on the 2012 Women's Tennis Association Miami final between Sharapova and Pole Agnieszka Radwańska, the previous record holder.

The men's final between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic was the most watched French Open final ever on Eurosport, with a live audience of 4.1 million viewers tuning in.

It was just shy of the 4.3 million who watched the 2012 Australian Open final between the pair.

The highest viewing figure rises versus 2013 were in Romania and Spain, both up 128 per cent.

The United Kingdom saw a 79 per cent rise in people watching the action at Roland Garros, and viewing in France on the network was up 49 per cent.

The final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep was the most watched women's tennis match in Eurosport's history ©Getty Images



A total of 60.7 million different European viewers tuned in to the two-week tournament, which ended at the weekend, versus 58.8 million in 2013.

That makes it the second best ever Grand Slam reach on Eurosport and Eurosport 2, narrowly behind the 61.2 million record of the 2012 French Open.

"To have the best-ever French Open this year is a fantastic achievement for the whole Eurosport team," said Eurosport Group chief executive Jean-Thierry Augustin.

"The strategy to identify and secure exclusivity in specific European markets on key properties has delivered the expected results.

"The French Open is definitely one of those key properties.

"Our on-air coverage has been excellent and clearly matched viewers expectations who enjoyed some incredible tennis and great analysis from our experts.

"It is especially pleasing to achieve this record in our 25th year, which also marks the 25th broadcast of the French Open on our channels."