LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2023 – Tennis Channel will have live coverage every day of the 15-day French Open again this year, its 17th year in Paris, from May 28-June 11. Between the network, its subscription-service Tennis Channel Plus and its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel T2, fans will have access to close to 1,750 live hours of matches at Roland Garros (commonly called the French Open), the world’s most prestigious clay-court competition and the second major on the tennis calendar. Action on all platforms begins with the tournament’s outset, Sunday, May 28, at 5 a.m. ET.
In all, Tennis Channel viewers can expect more than 140 live hours of coverage this year, with another 190-plus hours of encores. As it has done since first televising the French Open in 2007, the network will become a de-facto “Roland Garros Channel” for 15 days. Typically this means 12 live hours from each day’s start of play at 5 a.m. ET to its concluding match, followed by all-night replays leading up to the next morning’s first ball (complete schedule below).
After showing the first round through quarterfinals May 28-June 7, Tennis Channel will air the mixed-doubles final and women’s semifinals on Thursday, June 8. The men’s semifinals will run Friday, June 9, followed by the Junior Girls’ and Boys’ Finals on Saturday, June 10. The women’s doubles final takes place Sunday, June 11. The network will show same-day encores of the men’s and women’s singles and doubles semifinals on the final weekend again as well.
T2 will provide close to 100 hours of live matches that will not be available on Tennis Channel this year, up from 80 hours last year during its first year on air. This will put more hours of French Open competition on U.S. television for free than ever before. Thirteen days of live coverage are planned from May 28-June 9, beginning most days at 5 a.m. ET. From May 28-June 2 T2 will be live from 5 a.m.-2 p.m. ET, and then again June 3-5 from 5 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. Live matches June 6-7 take place from 5 a.m.-1 p.m. and June 8 from 6 a.m.-10 a.m. On June 9 T2 will be live from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
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T2 (and Tennis Channel) will become available on YouTube TV on June 1, day five of Roland Garros. All Samsung TV Plus users with 2017-or-newer Samsung smart TVs and Galaxy mobile devices currently get T2.
Subscription-service Tennis Channel Plus will be live 13 days as well, and offer every French Open match on demand following its completion. The platform will let users choose from up to 16 court feeds at once, with more than 1,500 live hours and 600 matches. Debuting at the tournament in 2014, Tennis Channel Plus is available to everyone in the United States, regardless of whether they subscribe to Tennis Channel.
Select Bally Sports regional networks around the country will provide up to 36 hours of live French Open play from May 28-June 5. During these nine days coverage will take place from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. As with T2, matches on Bally Sports networks will not air on Tennis Channel.
This week Tennis Channel is including Roland Garros qualifying matches as part of its Courtsidecoverage of other clay-court tournaments leading into Paris. The network will show 15 live and more than 20 encore hours, with additional matches on T2 and Tennis Channel Plus. On Saturday, May 27, at 11 a.m. ET, Tennis Channel Live at Roland Garros will preview this year’s tournament.
On-Air Talent
Tennis Channel’s robust on-air roster for Paris features Hall of Famers, tournament champions, decorated sportscasters and tennis experts. Hall of Famer and all-time great Martina Navratilova (@Martina) returns to the first event where she served as an analyst for the network, during its inaugural French Open in 2007. A mainstay ever since, her Roland Garros resume includes 11 championships as a player: two singles (1982, 1984), seven doubles (1975, 1982, 1984-1988) and two mixed doubles (1991-1992).
Fellow Hall of Famers Jim Courier and Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) are also in the Hall of Fame and will return to the City of Light as analysts in 2023. Courier won French Open singles titles in 1991 and 1992, while Davenport took the mixed-doubles trophy home in 1996. Announcer Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) is the fourth Hall of Famer on Tennis Channel’s team. A dominant doubles player, she won five French Open championships: four doubles (1984-1984, 1987-1988; with Navratilova) and one mixed doubles (1987).
Former players Paul Annacone, (@paul\annacone), Chanda Rubin (@Chanda\Rubin) and Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) are all major champions and back as Tennis Channel analysts during this year’s French Open coverage. Annacone won the 1985 Australian Open doubles titles and is also known for coaching Pete Sampras and Roger Federer to Grand Slam success. Rubin and Wozniacki also soared Down Under, with the former taking the 1996 doubles crown and the latter the singles in 2018.
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Rubin will appear on the Tennis Channel Livetournament desk at the French Open, along with former player Prakash Amritraj (@PrakashAmritraj). Throughout the year Amritraj hosts the network’s “Prakash Worldwide” interview segments from events around the globe. Led by award-winning sportscaster Steve Weissman (@SteveWeissman), the desk will also feature reporter and essayist Jon Wertheim (@jonwertheim), an author, Sports Illustratededitor and CBS’ 60 Minutes correspondent.
Emmy Award-winning announcers Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson) and Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) are back in the Roland Garros booth for Tennis Channel this year, as is former player Jason Goodall. Leif Shiras (@leifshiras) and Mark Knowles (@Knowlzee10s) also spent time on the pro circuit, with Knowles winning the French Open doubles title in 2007 during Tennis Channel’s first year at the event.
Analysts Jan-Michael Gambill (@JanmikeGambill), Jill Craybas (@jcray74), Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis), CiCi Bellis (@cicibellis) and Nicolas Pereira (@nicolaspereira) bring additional pro-tour experience to Tennis Channel’s French Open team. In 1981 Arias won the mixed-doubles championship in Paris. Announcers Brian Webber (@bwwebber) also has an Emmy Award to his name and will handle Roland Garros play by play this year, as will Gill Gross (@Gill_Gross).
Digital Coverage
In addition to unmatched live and on-demand matches on Tennis Channel Plus, Tennis Channel’s digital Roland Garros coverage is extensive again this spring. The Tennis.com website and app bring the game to users like no other platform. A roadmap for longtime fans and novices alike, Tennis.com offers live scoring, tournament calendars and brackets, news, stories, highlights, win-prediction percentages, estimated start times for all matches, the opportunity to directly link to live or on-demand matches and information feeds built around favorite players. Anyone in the world with an iOS or Android system can access the free platform, which is the sport’s most comprehensive vehicle for staying on top of Roland Garros.
The second season of digital series Warm & Fuzzy, hosted by comedian Michael Kosta, will premier this week on Tennis.com, the network’s app and YouTube. Kosta hosts a top player like Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and others each week for humorous and off-beat conversation that veers from the typical tennis press-conference line of questions.
The network’s “Racquet Bracket” game is also back this year, with the chance to guess winners at the beginning of the event. Also, 2023 marks the French Open return of the channel’s free Bally Sport Caller Match Predictor Game, which offers prizes throughout the tournament.
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Tennis Channel’s Live 2023 French Open Coverage
Date Time (ET) Event
Sunday, May 28 5 a.m.-4 p.m. First Round
Monday, May 29 5 a.m.-3 p.m. First Round
Tuesday, May 30 5 a.m.-5 p.m. First Round
Wednesday, May 31 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Second Round
Thursday, June 1 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Second Round
Friday, June 2 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Third Round
Saturday, June 3 5 a.m.-1 p.m. Third Round
Sunday, June 4 5 a.m.-1 p.m. Round of 16
Monday, June 5 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Round of 16
Tuesday, June 6 5 a.m.-12 p.m.;
2 p.m.-5 p.m. Quarterfinals
Wednesday, June 7 5 a.m.-12 p.m.;
2 p.m.-5 p.m. Quarterfinals
Thursday, June 8 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Mixed-Doubles Final; Women’s Semifinals
Friday, June 9 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Men’s Semifinals
Saturday, June 10 5 a.m.-9 a.m. Juniors Girls’ and Boys’ Finals
Sunday, June 11 5:30 a.m.-9 a.m. Women’s Doubles Final
Tennis channel will show same-day encores of the men’s and women’s singles and doubles finals again in 2023 (all times ET):
Saturday, June 10 – 2 p.m.: women’s singles final, men’s doubles final (and again at 6 p.m.)
Sunday, June 11 – 2 p.m.: men’s singles final; 6 p.m.: men’s singles final, women’s doubles final
Tennis Channel(www.tennischannel.com) which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only television-based multiplatform destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. The network has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television in one of the world’s most voluminous sports, with multiple men’s and women’s tournaments and singles, doubles and mixed competition throughout the year. Tennis Channel has rights at the four majors – US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open – and is the exclusive U.S. home of all men’s ATP World Tour and women’s WTA Tour competitions, Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, and Laver Cup. Direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis Channel Plusis available to everyone in the United States and allows subscribers to select from another 4,500 live and on-demand matches and award-winning content from short-form to films throughout the tennis season. Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform T2, the network’s second channel, offers programming and live matches that do not air on Tennis Channel. Tennis Channel Internationalbrings live competition and content to markets in Europe and Asia via digital subscription and FAST channels.Additional platform www.tennis.com is the largest digital outlet dedicated to the sport. Tennis Channel also manages a network of close to 20 podcasts.
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About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE! and TBD; and owns and provides services to 21 regional sports network brands. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation’s largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
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For further information:
Eric Abner, Tennis Channel, 310-314-9445, eabner@tennischannel.com, @TennisChannelPR