News

LOS ANGELES – Starting with the first match on Opening Day, Monday, Aug. 3, Tennis Channel will have more national on-air coverage of Washington DC’s Citi Open tournament this year than ever before. The network will also have a significantly enhanced on-site presence, similar to its approach at some of the year’s most important tournaments – like the French Open and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Tennis Channel’s Hall of Fame analysts and award-winning sportscasters will cover everything from the first ball to championship point live from a desk on the grounds of the Citi Open, in full view of tournament attendees. The set will act as a central hub of the network’s on-air and digital offerings, which this year broaden to include simultaneous Center Court and Grandstand coverage for the first time in tournament history.

Since its inception in 2003, the network has carried the Citi Open every year. In recent years, the network’s tournament telecast has steadily increased, from 10 hours in 2012 to more than 160 total hours in 2015, including more than 60 live match hours and more than 95 encore hours. Tennis Channel’s enhanced coverage will also greatly increase the number of digitally streamed matches, with more than 45 live hours available from the network’s digital subscription service, Tennis Channel Plus.

Tennis Channel will be live on the grounds of the Citi Open every day of the competition, from the early rounds through the finals. Each day of the tournament begins with live pregame show Tennis Channel Live at the Citi Open, where hosts Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) and Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) along with former American No. 1 Mardy Fish preview the day’s match play. The first five days of the tournament – Monday, August 3-Friday, August 7 – the network will air daylong live match blocks – beginning with Tennis Channel Live – from 1:30 p.m.-11 p.m. ET, more than nine hours of coverage daily. On Saturday, August 8, Tennis Channel will feature more than 10 hours of live match play from 12:30 p.m.-11 p.m. ET, with Tennis Channel Live introducing the night session at 6:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s programming will include the men’s and women’s singles semifinals as well as the men’s doubles semifinal and the women’s doubles final.

The final day of the competition, Sunday, August 9, the network will showcase the men’s doubles final, the men’s singles final and the women’s singles final, with live coverage from 12:30 p.m.-7p.m. ET, with Tennis Channel Live introducing the men’s and women’s singles finals at 2:30 p.m. ET. This adds up to more than six hours of live tennis for finals Sunday (complete schedule below).

“The Citi Open on Tennis Channel this year represents the ideal model for how we think tennis should be offered to viewers every week, with daylong television coverage of the best matches supported by live digital coverage of additional matches on the outer courts,” said Jeremy Langer, vice president of programming, Tennis Channel. “Given the tournament’s rich history and the legacy of Arthur Ashe’s involvement, we see it as one of the marquee professional tennis events in the U.S. and welcome the chance to give it the nationwide coverage it deserves.”

The Citi Open (as it is currently referenced) was founded in 1969 by former player and sports lawyer Donald Dell and his partner John Harris, with strategic input from Hall of Famer and philanthropist Arthur Ashe.The tournament has hosted numerous stars and future Hall of Famers, Ashe among them, and boasts a roster of champions that includes Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and Andy Roddick.

Heading to the network’s on-site tournament desk will be analysts and Hall of Famers Jim Courier and Tracy Austin in addition to renowned tennis coach Paul Annacone (@paulannacone). Joining them with announcing duties this year will be award-winning commentators Brett Haber Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson) and Steve Weissman (@SteveWeissman) as well as former player Justin Gimelstob (@justingimelstob), coach of John Isner, the top-ranked American men’s player who is also competing at the Citi Open.

During the tournament, the Tennis Channel website tennischannel.com will offer news, highlights and scores for fans at home and on the go. Users also have more mobile options with network app Tennis Channel Everywhere, which is available to all Apple and Android users and includes much of the content available online. Most of the network’s distribution partners allow authenticated Tennis Channel subscribers to access the network on the go through Tennis Channel Everywhere. In addition, the network’s digital subscription service, Tennis Channel Plus, is offering one week of free access to new users who sign up by Sunday, August 2, on the eve of the Citi Open. The content on Tennis Channel Plus is available to everyone in the United States, regardless of whether or not they subscribe to Tennis Channel.

For more content during the tournament, visit Tennis Channel’s social media outlets: Facebook (facebook.com/tennischannel), Twitter (twitter.com/tennischannel), YouTube (youtube.com/tennischannel), Instagram (instagram.com/tennischannel) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/tennischannel/).

The network will also place three large screens in busy thoroughfares around the DC area for fans in the city to be able to interact with Tennis Channel’s coverage of the Citi Open day and night while they are out.

Among the top players scheduled to compete at this year’s Citi Open are: World No. 3 Andy Murray, 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic, 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and American women’s star Sloane Stephens as well as the men’s top-ranked American John Isner and 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Jack Sock.

Tennis Channel’s Live Citi Open Coverage Schedule

(Men’s/Women’s Singles Unless Otherwise Specified)