In connection with the NCAA, the Tennis Channel and USTA have formed a three-year partnership. This agreement makes the Tennis Channel the exclusive television-network home of the NCAA Division I Tennis National Championships for men and women. Broadcasting begins this year with USTA’s upcoming events at their National Headquarters in Lake Nona.
“Tennis Channel is the perfect home for the best players and teams in college tennis,” said John MacDonald, Tennis Channel’s senior vice president, content programming. “We’re excited to bring these young stars to fans around the country.”
The network is going to cover both team and independent championships, with more than 50 hours of live tennis planned to air between May 16-25. The live coverage of this event will bring in the most hours of NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships in television history.
“We are incredibly excited that the Tennis Channel is committing to this level of coverage of the NCAA Tennis Championships, showcasing college tennis at its highest level and elevating the sport like never before,” said Lew Sherr, chief revenue officer, USTA. “College tennis is an important part of the development of the next generation of tennis players, and the exposure generated by this partnership will only further our mission of growing the game of tennis across the country.”
The Tennis Channel has covered and televised the USTA’s College Match Day series since 2018, marking the network’s first live broadcasting of college tennis.
“We are grateful to the Tennis Channel for providing this unprecedented level of exposure to the NCAA Division I student-athletes competing in the national championship,” added Elizabeth Schmidt, NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee chair and head women’s tennis coach at Rice University.
Eight men’s and eight women’s teams from 64 schools will be competing in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships. The individual singles tournaments will be featuring 64 players with 32 doubles.
For further information:
John Iatesta, Tennis Channel, 310-314-9487, jiatesta@tennischannel.com, @TennisChannelPR
Dan Pyser, USTA, 407-462-3184, daniel.pyser@usta.com
