· Road to US Open: 84 Hours on ESPN2
· Eight Championships with Addition of ATP Final in Cincinnati
· Extensive Coverage on ESPN3 from Rogers Cup in Canada, Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati
· Nadal, Serena with Points to Defend; Action to be Pivotal as Player of the Year is up for Grabs
· Points System Rewards Top Players at US Open
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ESPN2 will have an extensive schedule of tennis’ Emirates Airline US Open Series – eight hard-court events (four ATP, three WTA, one combined) across North America in five weeks – beginning Friday, July 25, with the ATP BB&T Open in Atlanta. Overall, on this critical stretch of matches leading to the US Open in New York next month, ESPN2 will televise 84 hours (80 live), including eight of the nine finals with the addition of the men’s championship in Cincinnati on August 17.
In 2014, three different men and three different women have won Majors (Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova), so the USOS and the US Open will be pivotal in determining the eight-player fields for the year-end ATP and WTA Finals and the choice of Player of the Year. In particular, Nadal, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka have championship-level points to defend from 2013 in Canada and Cincinnati.
All the TV action is also available online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the award-winning WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV to more than 92 million households nationwide via an affiliated video or internet provider.
The schedule is highlighted by back-to-back weeks of top fields in competition at key events in the year-long points rankings – the Rogers Cup in Canada (men in Toronto, women in Montreal) on ESPN2 from August 7-10, and the ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on ESPN2 from August 14-17. In addition, ESPN3 will provide extensive additional court coverage from both events (schedule TBD).
“We have the strongest lineup of summertime tennis – period,” said Jason Bernstein, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions. “With the addition of the Western & Southern Men’s Championship in Cincinnati, ESPN is now more than ever the home for tennis all year long.”
A points system rewards the men and women who finish in the top three for the USOS with a bonus based on their performance in the US Open. If the USOS winner also is the US Open champion, they receive a bonus of $1,000,000; last year both Nadal and Williams captured this payout.
ESPN’s commentator lineup for the US Open series includes Darren Cahill, Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert, Sam Gore, Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs.
WEEK ONE
ATP BB&T Open, Atlanta
- ESPN2 with eight hours including the championship Sunday, July 27, at 4 p.m. ET.
- Darren Cahill, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe
- Defending Champion: John Isner
WEEK TWO
ATP Citi Open, Washington, D.C.
- ESPN2 with eight hours including the championship Sunday, Aug. 3, at 3 p.m.
- Darren Cahill, Brad Gilbert, Sam Gore
- Defending Champion: Juan Martin Del Potro
WTA Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, Calif.
- ESPN2 with six hours including the championship Sunday, Aug. 3, at 5 p.m.
- Chrissie Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Pam Shriver
- Defending Champion: Dominika Cibulkova
WEEK THREE
ATP / WTA Rogers Cup, Toronto (men), Montreal (women)
- ESPN2 with 20 hours including the championships Sunday, Aug. 10, at 1 p.m. (WTA) and 3 p.m. (ATP)
- Darren Cahill, Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert, Sam Gore, Pam Shriver, Rennae Stubbs
- Defending Champions: Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams
WEEK FOUR
ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati
- ESPN2 with 28 hours including all four semifinals and the championships Sunday, Aug. 17, at 2 p.m. (WTA) and 4 p.m. (ATP)
- Darren Cahill, Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe
- Defending Champions: Rafael Nadal, Victoria Azarenka
WEEK FIVE
ATP Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, N.C.
- ESPN2 with six hours – two quarterfinals and one semifinal
- Commentators TBD
- Defending Champion: Jurgen Melzer
WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn.
- ESPN2 with eight hours, including both semifinals and the championship Saturday, Aug. 23, at 3 p.m.
- Commentators TBD
- Defending Champion: Simona Halep
ESPN – All Four Slams, All In One Place
Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air and provided many memorable moments, but it has never been as important as today, with the US Open joining the lineup in 2009, giving ESPN all four Grand Slam events, something no other U.S. network has ever done, let alone in one year. ESPN has presented the Australian Open since 1984, the French Open since 2002 (plus 1986 – 1993), and Wimbledon since 2003, with exclusivity for live television with all other rights extended in a 12-year agreement starting in 2012. Exclusivity for the US Open in an 11-year agreement begins in 2015. ESPN3 delivers an unmatched multi-screen presentation of the sport’s four majors, all ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments, WTA Premier Events and season-ending championships for both tours.
ESPN & the US Open Series
All live except as noted.
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network |
| Fri Jul 25 | 4 p.m. | ATP BB&T Atlanta Open, Atlanta – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP BB&T Atlanta Open, Atlanta – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 | |
| Sat Jul 26 | 3 p.m. | ATP BB&T Atlanta Open, Atlanta – Semifinal | ESPN2 |
| Sun Jul 27 | 5 p.m. | ATP BB&T Atlanta Open, Atlanta – Championship | ESPN2 |
| Fri Aug 1 | 4 p.m. | ATP Citi Open, Washington, DC – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP Citi Open, Washington, DC – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 | |
| 11 p.m. | WTA Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, Calif. – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 | |
| Sat Aug 2 | 3 p.m. | ATP Citi Open, Washington, DC – Semifinal | ESPN2 |
| 5 p.m. | WTA Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, Calif. – Semifinal | ESPN2 | |
| Sun Aug 3 | 3 p.m. | ATP Citi Open, Washington, DC – Championship | ESPN2 |
| 5 p.m. | WTA Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, Calif. – Championship | ESPN2 | |
| Thur Aug 7 | 1 p.m. | ATP / WTA Rogers Cup, Toronto/Montreal – Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| Fri Aug 8 | 1 p.m. | ATP / WTA Rogers Cup, Toronto/Montreal – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP / WTA Rogers Cup, Toronto/Montreal – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Sat Aug 9 | 1 p.m. | WTA Rogers Cup, Montreal – Semifinal #1 | ESPN2 |
| 3 p.m. | ATP Rogers Cup, Toronto – Semifinal #1 | ESPN2 | |
| 8 p.m. | ATP Rogers Cup, Toronto – Semifinal #2 | ESPN2 | |
| Sun Aug 10 | 1 p.m. | WTA Rogers Cup, Montreal – Championship | ESPN2 |
| 3 p.m. | ATP Rogers Cup, Toronto – Championship | ESPN2 | |
| Thur Aug 14 | 1 p.m. | ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Round of 16 | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Round of 16 | ESPN3 | |
| 9 p.m. | WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Round of 16 | ESPN2 | |
| 11 p.m. | ATP Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Round of 16 | ESPN2 – * | |
| Fri Aug 15 | 11 a.m. | ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Sat Aug 16 | 1 p.m. | ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Semifinals | ESPN2 |
| 7 p.m. | ATP / WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Semifinals | ESPN2 | |
| Sun Aug 17 | 2 p.m. | WTA Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Championship | ESPN2 |
| 4 p.m. | ATP Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati – Championship | ESPN2 | |
| Thur Aug 21 | 1 p.m. | WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn. – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 |
| 3 p.m. | ATP Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, N.C. – Quarterfinal | ESPN2 | |
| Fri Aug 22 | 1 p.m. | WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn. – Semifinal #1 | ESPN2 |
| 3 p.m. | ATP Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, N.C. – Semifinal #1 | ESPN2 | |
| 7 p.m. | WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn. – Semifinal #2 | ESPNEWS | |
| MID | WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn. – Semifinal #2 | ESPN2 – ** | |
| Sat Aug 23 | 3 p.m. | WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven, Conn. – Championship | ESPN2 |
* – Aired on tape delay from 7 p.m., seen live on ESPN3
** – Aired on tape delay from 7 p.m., seen live on ESPNEWS
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