CLAY COURT CLASHES COMMENCE AS WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY SET TO STEP UP GAME-CHANGING MATCH COVERAGE OF ROLAND-GARROS

The wait for the world’s biggest clay court tournament is almost over for tennis fans. Viewers across Europe (excluding France) can soon enjoy non-stop action from Roland-Garros with Warner Bros. Discovery’s exclusive** and comprehensive coverage of the year’s second Grand Slam from Sunday 28 May.

The sport is on the precipice of one of most hotly contested tournaments in recent years with 22-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic looking to surpass the absent Rafael Nadal and make history as the first men’s singles player to reach 23 titles by outlasting young prodigy and 2022 US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz. 

On the women’s side, two-time Roland-Garros singles champion and current world number one Iga Swiatek will look to overcome Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka as all are primed to create new stories from Stade Roland-Garros.

Scott Young, SVP Content and Production at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “Our raison d'être is to connect fans with the sports and athletes they love. Our wall-to-wall coverage of Roland-Garros presents the perfect opportunity to do this by leveraging our rights, broadcast innovations and deep tennis expertise to scale coverage to the widest possible audience while telling the stories of this iconic tournament and its players.

“We are widely recognised as the Home of Tennis across Europe and are synonymous with Roland-Garros. We look forward to returning in our 35th year of broadcasting this tournament and will cover every angle to create the most complete experience for millions of fans.”

UNPARALLELED LIVE COVERAGE

Eurosport will televise its 35th consecutive Roland-Garros across Europe (excluding France), and this year 273 live hours on Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 will complement an unbridled digital offering on discovery+** and the Eurosport App - where every match will be available to watch live throughout the tournament.

An unmatched level of access will be provided for streaming viewers with 16 broadcast feeds, six beauty cameras, two press conferences feeds and two interview green screens connected to Eurosport’s local studios around Europe, meaning fans won’t miss a moment of the action. In addition, every qualifying, wheelchair, junior and legends match will be available to watch live as well as the main draw on 25 May.

Maximising the reach of the tournament, Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air channels will offer viewers in Denmark (6’eren), Finland (TV5); Germany (Eurosport 1), Norway (MAX), Poland (TVN)***, Sweden (Kanal 9), Spain (DMAX) and Turkey (DMAX) access to selected matches. Viewers in multiple territories will also have access to the entire tournament in 4K via Eurosport**** and local windows will support Eurosport’s international coverage in seven markets***** to connect fans with the players they love.

CRÈME-DE-LA-CRÈME OF TENNIS EXPERTISE

Some of the greatest players to have graced the game join forces to form the most experienced expert line-up with Eurosport’s on-site presentation team boasting multiple Grand Slam winners including Mats Wilander, Chris Evert and John McEnroe who join Alex Corretja, Laura Robson and Alizé Lim in Paris. Current world number four and 2022 Roland-Garros men’s singles finalist Casper Ruud will also offer his insights exclusively for Eurosport’s linear and digital platforms throughout the tournament as he seeks to claim his maiden Grand Slam title.

They are joined by Tim Henman and Barbara Schett, who will anchor coverage from the mixed-reality Cube studio in London before presenting live from Paris from the semi-final stage of the tournament. 

Fans across Europe will also be treated to the best local analysis and opinions including in Germany with Boris Becker, Barbara Rittner, Andrea Petkovic and Mischa Zverev presenting from Munich for Eurosport Germany. Robert Vinci will provide her expertise for Eurosport Italy and Conchita Martinez, Nicolas Almagro and Anabel Medina-Garrigues form Eurosport’s Spain’s team. 

ACTION-PACKED PROGRAMMING AND GAME-CHANGING ANALYSIS

Eurosport’s experts will front a daily live show hosted from Roland-Garros, which will precede and follow the on-court action to discuss the major talking points with an extended live output planned for the finals weekend.

The innovations housed within the Cube studio will dissect the key moments from matches and help explain to fans how points were won, boosted by the integration of Hawk-Eye data. The state-of-the-art studio is also connected with green screens on-site in Paris and across Europe to foster live interviews with the players and special guests following matches and bring fans closer to the superstars of tennis.

FRESH, FAN-FIRST CONTENT

Three-minute highlights packages will also be available for free on Eurosport.com and Eurosport’s YouTube platform, focussing on the top 15 singles players and local heroes with extended eight-minute highlights of matches for discovery+ and Eurosport App subscribers.

Additional storytelling and digital content form the complete package for tennis fans including long-form articles on Eurosport.com such as Legends’ Voices, offering first-person accounts from players competing at Roland-Garros and from the game’s biggest champions including Chris Evert, Mats Wilander and Justine Henin. This is alongside a whole host of digital content and regular formats produced for fans throughout the tournament including expert opinions, behind-the-scenes access, plus exclusive player and fan reactions. 

A new eight-episode series Tales of Paris will be hosted by Alizé Lim and Laura Robson as they explore Parisian culture and visit some of the city’s famous landmarks that have featured in iconic films and TV shows.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s coverage of the main draw of Roland-Garros begins on Sunday 28 May from 10:30 CEST. The women’s singles final will be broadcast from 14:30 CEST on Saturday 10 June and the men’s final from the same time on Sunday 11 June.

*Streaming is available on discovery+ in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK and Ireland. Eurosport Extra in Poland.

**Warner Bros. Discovery is the exclusive rights holder for Roland-Garros in Europe (excluding France). Sub-license agreements are currently in place in Austria, Belgium and Switzerland.

***Planned free-to-air coverage on TVN in Poland if a Polish player reaches the final. 

****4K coverage in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the UK and CEEMCA (Romania, Slovenia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Macedonia, Serbia).

*****Live local windows in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK.