Tennis Channel To Air The US Open Series

Starting next weekend, Tennis Channel gets back to airing live tennis with the preliminary rounds of several US Open Series tournaments. These are the prelims before the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, the U.S. Open in New York. A total of 8 tournaments will be aired starting with the Atlanta Tennis Championships on July 22 and ending with the Winston-Salem Open on August 26. Through its agreement with the USTA and ESPN, Tennis Channel will air early rounds and one singles semifinal. It will also air the doubles final in several championships as well.

We have the schedule plus the announcers who will work the tournaments.

TENNIS CHANNEL TO AIR CLOSE TO 100 HOURS OF LIVE AND SAME-DAY COVERAGE DURING SUMMER’S US OPEN SERIES

Network will Carry Nine Tournaments in High-Definition During Annual North American Hard-Court Season that Leads to the US Open

LOS ANGELES, July 15, 2011 – Tennis Channel will provide the sport’s fans with close to 100 high-definition hours of live or same-day match play during the 2011 Olympus US Open Series this summer.  The network will cover singles semifinal, quarterfinal and early round matches during the annual North American hard-court circuit this year, in addition to prime-time Sunday doubles finals.  Matches from the six-week series will first appear on the channel Friday, July 22, and conclude Friday, Aug. 26, on the eve of the network’s US Open telecast that begins two days later.

During the 2011 Olympus US Open Series players will compete at five men’s ATP tournaments, four women’s WTA competitions and one combined event that features both men and women at the same venue.  Tennis Channel will cover nine of the 10 tournaments that make up the series, with the exception being the women’s New Haven Open at Yale the week of August 21.

In Tennis Channel’s 2011 US Open Series lineup: ATP – Atlanta Tennis Championships (Atlanta), Farmers Classic (Los Angeles), Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington, D.C.), Rogers Masters (Montreal) and the new Winston-Salem Open (Winston-Salem, N.C.); WTA – Bank of the West Classic (Stanford, Calif.), Mercury Insurance Open (San Diego) and Rogers Cup (Toronto).  The network will also cover the combined men’s and women’s Western and Southern Open (Cincinnati).

Tennis Channel has televised the Olympus US Open Series every summer since the United States Tennis Association (USTA) first linked the tournaments into a season in 2004, along with ESPN and CBS Sports.  Other than the Cincinnati and Canada-based events, Tennis Channel will produce all Olympus US Open Series coverage for the three networks this year.  The channel has been producing most of the series for the three networks since 2008.

On-Air Talent
Emmy Award-winning announcers Ian Eagle and Brett Haber will handle play-by-play duties for Tennis Channel during the 2011 Olympus US Open Series, as will former player and longtime Tennis Channel booth presence Leif Shiras.  Analysts’ responsibilities fall on former players Lindsay Davenport, Jimmy Arias, Justin Gimelstob and Corina Morariu, with Morariu again sharing sideline-reporting duties with Australian doubles specialist Ashley Fisher on occasion.

The network will also feature a desk on the tournament grounds in Atlanta, Stanford, Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and Winston-Salem.  An Olympus US Open Series tournament-by-tournament breakdown of the network’s booth assignments follows, included in the on-air coverage schedule.

Tennis Channel’s 2011 Olympus US Open Series live and same-day telecast schedule (all times ET):  For encore replays, visit www.tennischannel.com/schedule.

July 22-24            Atlanta Tennis Championships (ATP)
Friday, July 22 – 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (singles quarterfinal)
Saturday, July 23 – 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles semifinal)
Sunday, July 24 – 10 p.m.-11:30 p.m. (doubles final)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Brett Haber, Analyst – Justin Gimelstob, Sideline Reporter – Ashley Fisher

July 29                 Bank of the West Classic (WTA)
Friday, July 29 – 5 p.m.-7 p.m.; 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles quarterfinals)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Brett Haber, Analyst – Lindsay Davenport, Sideline Reporter – Coriana Morariu

July 29-31            Farmers Classic (ATP)
Friday, July 29 – 3 p.m.-5 p.m. (singles quarterfinal)
Saturday, July 30 – 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (singles semifinal, doubles semifinal)
Sunday, July 31 – 10 p.m.-11:30 p.m. (doubles final)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Leif Shiras, Analyst – Justin Gimelstob, Sideline Reporter – Ashley Fisher

Aug. 4-7                Legg Mason Tennis Classic (ATP)
Thursday, Aug. 4 – 4 p.m.-8 p.m. (singles round of 16)
Friday, Aug 5. – 2 p.m.-4 p.m.; 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles quarterfinals)
Saturday, Aug. 6 – 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles semifinal)
Sunday, Aug. 7 – 10 p.m.-11:30 p.m. (doubles final)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Brett Haber, Analyst – Justin Gimelstob

Aug. 6                    Mercury Insurance Open (WTA)
Saturday, Aug. 6 – 5p.m.-7 p.m. (singles semifinal)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Leif Shiras, Analyst – Lindsay Davenport, Sideline Reporter – Coriana Morariu

Aug. 8-10              Rogers Masters/Rogers Cup (ATP/WTA)
Monday, Aug. 8 – 1 p.m.-9 p.m. (early round action)
Tuesday, Aug. 9 – 1 p.m.-9 p.m. (early round action)
Wednesday, Aug. 10 – 1 p.m.-9 p.m. (early round action)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Leif Shiras, Analyst – Lindsay Davenport, TPL World Feed Commentators

Aug. 15-17            Western & Southern Open (ATP/WTA)
Monday, Aug. 15 -11 a.m.-11 p.m. (early round action)
Tuesday, Aug. 16 – 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (early round action)
Wednesday, Aug. 17 – 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (early round action)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Ian Eagle, Analyst – Lindsay Davenport and Justin Gimelstob, Sideline Reporter – Fisher

Aug. 25-26            Winston-Salem Open (ATP)
Thursday, Aug. 25 – 5 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles quarterfinals)
Friday, Aug. 26 – 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles semifinal)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Leif Shiras, Analyst – Jimmy Arias, Sideline Reporter – Ashley Fisher

That will do it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

Quantcast