ESPN bags rights to ATP and WTA events
Originally published on: 29/03/12 14:58
Sports media company ESPN have bagged the rights to broadcast 11 ATP World Tour 250 and three WTA International events over the course of this year.
The live coverage will begin at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, expected to feature Mardy Fish, from Friday April 13, followed by the Estoril and Serbia Open’s – won by Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic respectively last year – from April 30. ESPN will also cover the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur, from May 21, as players make final preparations for the French Open. Events after Wimbledon in the run up to the US Open include tournaments in Atlanta, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.
On the women’s side, ESPN will have coverage of the Estoril Open from April 30, the Internationaux de Strasbourg from May 21st and the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Sofia from October 29th.
“As we continue to expand our content in the UK and Ireland, we’re delighted to add outstanding tennis tournaments from the ATP and WTA circuits,” said Jeroen Oerlemans, Vice-President TV Channels, ESPN EMEA. “Through ESPN.co.uk and other media around the world, ESPN has a long and extensive association with tennis that we will look to expand in the UK and Ireland as we broaden our range and depth of sports programming.”
ATP
9th Apr, Houston, USA, US Men’s Clay Court Championship
30th Apr, Estoril, Portugal, Estoril Open, Belgrade, Serbia, Serbia Open
21st May, Nice, France, Open de Nice Côte d’Azur
9th Jul, Umag, Croatia, Studena Croatia Open
16th Jul, Atlanta, USA, Atlanta Tennis Championships
16th July, Gstaad, Switzerland, Crédit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad
23rd Jul, Kitzbühel, Austria, Bet-At-Home Cup Kitzbühel
20th Aug, Winston-Salem, USA, Winston-Salem Open
17th Sep, St.Petersburg, Russia, St. Petersburg Open
24th Sep, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysian Open
WTA
30th April, Estoril, Potugal, Estoril Open
21st May, Strasbourg, France, Internationaux de Strasbourg
29th October, Bali, Indonesia, Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
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