Eurosport aces WTA rights to Russia
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Editor
| 02 September 2019

In the latest of its deals with the premier women’s tennis tour, Discovery’s leading sports brand Eurosport has gained exclusive rights for WTA tournaments in a new four-year deal beginning January 2020.

The new agreement will see Eurosport cover every major WTA event for the next four years, with up to 47 tournaments worldwide and more than 800 matches produced for broadcast each year available on Eurosport’s online streaming service, Eurosport Player. Coverage of the WTA’s 21 Premier Tournaments will be available on Eurosport 1 - with up to 350 hours of live coverage from WTA top-tier events - and Eurosport Gold, which will carry 900 hours the WTA’s remaining Premier competitions.

In the last year, Eurosport has secured exclusive long-term ATP Tour rights in France and Russia, which commenced at the beginning of the 2019, and in Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden with coverage starting in January 2020. Also in 2020, Eurosport will continue to present the Australian Open, Roland-Garros and US Open in more than 50 markets across the continent with every qualifying and main draw singles and doubles match live and on-demand on the Eurosport Player.

Commenting on the WTA partnership, Laurent Prud’homme, SVP rights acquisitions and syndication at Eurosport, said: “Expanding our exclusive position in tennis is a major win for fans in Russia...With ten Russian players inside the top 100 in the WTA Rankings, interest in tennis has never been greater and Eurosport will power people’s passion for the sport by delivering the best experiences and content across all screens... Adding exclusive WTA events to our unprecedented tennis portfolio and innovative coverage of all four Grand Slams and the ATP Tour, means Eurosport truly is the Home of Tennis in Russia.”

“The WTA is thrilled to have partnered with Eurosport to become the exclusive broadcast partner in Russia,” added WTA President Micky Lawler. “Russia is one of our top global markets with a history of producing exceptional talent, and we are delighted to join forces with Eurosport in telling the exciting WTA player stories to the Russian fans.”