Tennis fans can radiate in the warm glow of Sunshine Double coverage this month.
Tennis Channel announced it is planning to televise more than 550 hours of combined coverage of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
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From March 8-April 2, the channel will devote 32 days and more than 550 live and encore hours to these two tennis-calendar heavyweights, surpassed in number of players and days by only the four majors. Coverage from Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami Gardens, Fla., begins on the first day of BNP Paribas Open main-draw play, Wednesday, March 8, at 1 p.m. ET. The lineup will feature 12 consecutive hours of live matches, the first of many in March with extensive, half-day telecast windows followed by all-night encore replays.
Underway March 8-19, Tennis Channel’s BNP Paribas Open coverage will include more than 115 hours of live matches and another 150-plus hours of encores this year. Most days begin at 1 p.m. ET with one-hour lead-in show Tennis Channel Live at the BNP Paribas Open, ahead of daylong competition starting at 2 p.m. ET. Championship weekend features men’s and women’s doubles finals Saturday, March 18, in a window with the men’s singles semifinals that gets going at 2 p.m. ET. Sunday, March 19, men’s and women’s singles finals close the event at 4 p.m. ET.
The network follows a similar schedule at the Miami Open March 21-April 2. A notable exception is the replacement of a daily lead-in show with the nightly Tennis Channel Live at the Miami Open at the conclusion of each evening’s play. More than 120 live and 170 encore hours are planned from Miami in 2023, with matches beginning at 11 a.m. ET most mornings. The final Saturday, April 1, will feature the women’s singles final at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the men’s doubles championship. Sunday, April 2, will see the reverse, with men’s singles and women’s doubles winners crowned, also set for 1 p.m. ET.
Live BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open competition will also stream on Tennis Channel Plus. The digital subscription service will make all matches from both events available on demand upon their completion.
On-Air Talent
Tennis Channel will have a full roster of accomplished former tennis professionals and decorated sportscasters on air during its coverage in Indian Wells and Miami.This includes 14 former tour players, six of whom are in the sport’s Hall of Fame.
Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova (@Martina) will offer analysis during the Miami Open again this year. As a player, she grabbed singles championships in Southern California in 1990-1991, and in South Florida in 1985, where she also won the doubles and mixed-doubles tournament that same year. Fellow analysts Jim Courier, Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin), Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76), Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) and Andy Roddick (@andyroddick) round out the Hall of Fame representation in Tennis Channel’s tournament booths this March.
Courier was the first man to win the singles “Sunshine Double” in 1991, taking both events while also winning the doubles championship in Indian Wells. He won the BNP Paribas Open singles title a second time in 1993, and will offer his perspective during both events.
As will Davenport, who hails from Southern California and dominated the desert during her playing days. She won eight titles between 1997-2003: two singles (1997, 2000) and six doubles (1994-1995, 1997-1998, 2000 and 2003) crowns at the event. Shriver won doubles championships in Indian Wells (1989) and Miami (1986-1987), while Roddick won doubles at the BNP Paribas Open (2009) and singles at the Miami Open (2004, 2010). Both will be on air for Tennis Channel in Indian Wells.
Photo credit: Getty
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