Sky Sports’ all-star line-up for 2023 US Open as tennis returns to pay-TV giant

The US Open returns to Sky Sports next week and the sports channel has revealed a star-studded broadcasting line-up for the final Grand Slam of the year.

The hard-court Grand Slam had been aired by streaming giant Amazon Prime over the past seven years, but the United States Tennis Association confirmed at the end of the 2022 season that they had agreed a new five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports, starting this year.

This year’s US Open runs from Monday August 28 until Sunday September 10 and the pay channel – which has access to all individual court feeds – will broadcast a minimum of 135 hours of competition throughout the fortnight.

A press release stated: “Sky Sports subscribers on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q, and the Sky Sports app will be able to watch all courts for the first time on Sky Sports”.

Furthermore, Sky Sports will not only broadcast the traditional men’s and women’s singles events, but also the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, and the juniors and wheelchair tournaments.

What about Sky Sports’ commentary team?

Former TalkSPORT newsreader Gigi Salmon – who has worked for BBC Radio 5 Live in the past and also commented at Wimbledon, the French Open and Australian Open – will front Sky Sports’ US Open coverage.

Tennis great Martina Navratilova, who has 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 30 women’s doubles titles to her name, will be part of the all-star line-up. 2013 Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli, 2015 US Open wheelchair singles champion Jordanne Whiley and two-time Grand Slam men’s doubles champion Jamie Murray are also part of the broadcasting team.

Former British stars Tim Henman, Jo Konta and Laura Robson, and Spain’s Feliciano Lopez also feature along with former BBC presenter Karthi Gnanasegaram, Sky Sports darts presenter Emma Paton and Jonathan Overend – who had worked for the ATP, ITV and Times Radio in the past.

Away from the US Open, Sky Sports is reportedly also close to signing a deal to broadcast ATP and WTA events from the 2024 season until the 2028 campaign with the deal set to include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.

The move comes after Amazon Prime Video opted not to renew its deal with the two tennis Tours. According to The Times, Sky Sports is set to more than £15M ($16.9M) per year for the exclusive rights to broadcast ATP and WTA tournaments.

READ MORE: 2023 US Open: When is the draw, likely seedings, who are absent, streaming and TV channels…