By Randy Walker
CBS Sports Network, the all sports cable network in the United States, will provide daily television coverage of the US Open qualifying tournament starting Tuesday, August 21. It will mark the first time ever that the US Open qualifying tournament will be broadcast daily on television. CBS provided some limited match coverage of the US Open final-round of qualifying back in 1996, with Russian standout Anna Kournikova and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash making air. CBS is the longtime US broadcaster of the US Open and begins its coverage of the main draw of the tournament on Saturday, September 1.
US Open qualifying coverage on CBS Sports Network will be from 1 pm to 9 pm on Tuesday, August 21 and Wednesday, August 22, from 5 pm to 9 pm on Thursday, August 23 and Friday, August 24 from 11 am to 1 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm.
“Our coverage will be a mix of as much live tennis as we can give our viewers with a nice balance of bonus material,” Ross Molloy, Vice President of Remote Production for CBS Sports Network, said to WorldTennisMagazine.com “We will look to tell the unique stories of the qualifiers, do interviews with top players already in the main draw, recap the US Open series and let the viewers hear from our talent on what it takes to qualify for the year’s final major. Our announce team will also, throughout the week, debate their top contenders on the men’ and women’s sides of the draw and look back at some of the great moments in US Open history.”
Matches on courts 11 and 17 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be televised with Katrina Adams and Dave Ryan broadcasting on Court 11 and Andrew Catalon and Taylor Dent serving as broadcasters on Court 17. Justin Gimelstob and Adam Zucker will be hosting from a set on the tennis center grounds near the Mojito restaurant. Danielle Santoro will also provide interviews from the grounds, including as many of the main draw stars as possible.
“With this year’s qualifying being the first year on TV, there is a blank canvas as to how we plan on covering the week,” said Molloy. “The USTA has been an amazing partner in the lead up to Day 1 of qualifying on Tuesday. They stressed to us the need to bring the drama of winning 3 matches to “get in” as a main focal point of our coverage, and we plan to do just that”.
Click here to find what channel the CBS Sports Network is in your area: http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channelfinder. The station is in 47 million homes in the United States.
For tennis fans in New York, the US Open qualifying tournament is free to the public. The event features 128 men and 128 women seeking 16 spots each in the main draw of the tournament. Prize money in the event exceeds $1 million, making it one of the richest tournaments on its own in the sport.
For more information on the US Open and the qualifying tournament, go to www.USOpen.org
