It is not often that a TV network is faced with airing a completely new sport for the first time, much less one of that sport’s marquee events. It’s even rarer for a network to ace the test in Year 1.
But that’s precisely what TNT Sports did this year with the French Open.
Barring a short run from 2000 to 2002 when TNT aired daytime Wimbledon coverage alongside NBC, the network had zero experience producing tennis before this year’s French Open. After securing broadcast rights for the tournament last year, American tennis fans entered this year’s tournament with a high level of uncertainty.
Jumping into a brand new sport cold is no guarantee. Look no further than Fox’s coverage of golf’s U.S. Open from 2015-2019, which was received so poorly that the network exited its deal seven years early and is currently paying half of the rights fee for NBC to air the event.
Before this year, Tennis Channel had held exclusive broadcast rights for the French Open since 2007, sublicensing certain windows to other broadcasters, first to ESPN until 2015 and later to NBC until last year. Both of those networks had extensive experience producing tennis tournaments. TNT? Not so much.
However, with fresh eyes, TNT approached the French Open differently. Not only would the network send 30-odd on-air talents to Paris to help cover the tournament, but it would introduce broadcast innovations like a RedZone-style whiparound show during the early rounds and put microphones on players and coaches.
TNT clearly invested in its coverage, treating the French Open like the jewel property that it is, and it showed.
From early morning until mid-afternoon in the United States, TNT aired wall-to-wall coverage that endeared itself to fans. Between lighthearted moments with Adam Lefkoe anchoring studio coverage to Brian Anderson’s legendary call of a men’s singles final for the ages, TNT has a lot to be proud of in its first year covering the French Open.
Outside of Tennis Channel, tennis is a sport that has rarely gotten its due in the United States. That could partly be because American men haven’t won a Grand Slam event since 2003, but I’d argue it’s primarily due to the sport’s awkward television scheduling. Three out of the sport’s four Grand Slam events are contested outside of the United States, two in Europe, and one in Australia. That means for large parts of the year, the sport is out of sight and out of mind.
Regular-season events on the ATP or WTA circuits are relegated to Tennis Channel, with virtually no other exposure on cable or broadcast networks, except for an occasional highlight or two on SportsCenter. Outside of tennis fans, few are tuning into the sport. It’s something you have to seek out rather than stumble upon.
As such, ESPN hasn’t exactly gone all-in on its coverage of Grand Slam events in recent years. The network famously opted not to send announcers to Australia in 2023 as a cost-cutting measure, instead having its talent call matches from Bristol. Luckily, the network reversed course the past two seasons, but it was a move that told tennis fans that their sport was “less than” compared to the network’s other properties.
TNT has done the opposite. It has invested. Alongside the College Football Playoff, March Madness, and the Stanley Cup, the French Open ranks among TNT Sports’ most prestigious properties. The network is reportedly paying $65 million per year to air the tournament and didn’t pinch pennies on its actual coverage.
It created an entirely new show. It hired massive names in the sport, from the McEnroe brothers to Venus Williams, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Chris Evert, and many more. And the network’s investment didn’t go unnoticed. Even the players themselves celebrated TNT’s dedication to raising the profile of the sport.
Perhaps an underrated part of all of this is TNT’s ability to leverage its digital properties. Even during Grand Slams, it never really feels like tennis breaks through on social media. This year’s French Open did, in large part thanks to TNT’s digital channels, including Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. In today’s day and age, breaking through online can help build momentum for a property like the French Open, which is contested over multiple weeks.
No doubt, it’ll be tough to top this year’s tournament just based on the quality of matches TNT was given. Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Jannik Sinner was maybe one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time. Coco Gauff was the first American woman to win a women’s singles final at the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015. Both matches likely attracted more casual sports fans than usual.
But that didn’t mean TNT didn’t rise to the occasion. Without investing the resources early and getting the reps throughout the first two weeks of the tournament, TNT wouldn’t have delivered the product it did on Saturday and Sunday.
Tennis fans have a lot to be excited about with TNT’s coverage going forward. We’re already counting down the days until next year’s French Open.