Laura Robson cements her status as TNT Sports kicks off Roland Garros coverage
A new era of tennis broadcasting kicked off at this year’s French Open, with TNT Sports and discovery+ taking over the rights for the Roland Garros extravaganza.
There were some grumblings over the switch from a Eurosport platform that has been the long-time home of the tournament for British and Irish viewers, but the opening salvo of coverage from Paris has been a resounding triumph for the TNT Sports team.
Here’s the Tennis365 verdict on what has been served up so far:
LAURA ROBSON TAKES CENTRE STAGE
Laura Robson has emerged as one of the most accomplished broadcasters in tennis in recent years, but the challenge of hosting a live show is very different to the role of pundit.
Former British No 1 Robson has stepped into the role of lead presenter for TNT Sports and her broadcasting talents can only be admired.
She has always been an impressive interviewer, with her friendly and witty approach drawing the best from the game’s top players.
Robson is also hugely well-connected and respected in tennis, with her role as Tournament Director at the WTA 500 HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club in London next month highlighting her prominence in the sport.
Robson is a class act and TNT Sports picked the perfect host to propel their coverage in Paris.
ELITE PANEL
Sports broadcasting has moved in an alternative direction in recent years, with the on-screen ‘experts’ often lacking the gravitas and credibility to successfully execute the roll, but TNT Sports has found the perfect balance on their line-up.
An opening morning line-up featuring host Robson, former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, former British No 1 Tim Henman and three-time Roland Garros winner Mats Wilander offered a balance of insight and experience that could educate the viewer on what to expect.
The graphics also gave the viewer interesting insight into potential runs to the final for the leading contenders in the tournament, with the confident and knowledgeable panel ensuring this did not look like a new broadcaster making a debut.
PRICE IS RIGHT?
In the UK and Ireland, TNT Sports 4 is the home of Roland-Garros with wall-to-wall coverage alongside TNT Sports 1, which will show the biggest matches.
Viewers across Europe can tune in to Eurosport 2 for day-long coverage during week one, with evening coverage on Eurosport 1, before all the action comes to Eurosport 1 in week two.
There have been some grumblings among viewers in UK and Ireland as Eurosport used to be readily available on numerous platforms for a limited cost, with the decision to shut down that service and move the Roland Garros action to TNT Sports meaning the price to watch has risen.
The rising cost of watching live sport on TV and the relentless popularity of illegal streaming services are putting huge pressure on broadcasters to encourage customers to part with their cash to watch the action and TNT Sports coverage of the French Open is doing everything possible to make that happen.
The option of scrolling back to watch any match at the tournament is a step ahead of anything on offer elsewhere and would not be available to those rolling the legal dice by signing up for backdoor streaming options.
THE CHALLENGE FOR FANS
The challenge for tennis fans in the UK and Ireland is the spread of coverage of their favourite sport on different platforms.
Sky Sports has the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, while they also screen the US Open.
Wimbledon is on the free-to-air BBC platform, and now the Australian Open and French Open are on TNT Sports.
In an ideal world, a single Tennis Channel would be available that offers more comprehensive coverage, but there are options for fans to dip in and out of subscriptions to ensure they get all the tennis they need over the course of a year.
