Sky Sports has announced that a new dedicated tennis channel will be launching in the UK and Ireland on February 11. The broadcaster acquired the rights to the ATP and WTA Tours from this year, meaning fans will be able to keep up with the likes of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu compete year-round.
The new Sky Sports Tennis channel will launch on Sky and NOW from February 11, promising “more live tennis than anywhere else”. It comes after Sky Sports signed a five-year deal beginning in 2024 to broadcast the ATP and WTA Tours, which includes the Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events as well as smaller 500 and 250-point tournaments.
The broadcaster also acquired the rights to the US Open last year, covering Novak Djokovic’s run to a historic 24th Grand Slam title and Coco Gauff’s journey to lift her first Major trophy. Sky is now promising to bring viewers “over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year” across the two tours alongside their existing US Open coverage.
Until now, Sky had been airing tour-level events on their existing Main Event, Arena and Action channels. But they are now promising multi-court coverage, with viewers able to select their own streams. Sky Sports Tennis will be available to Sky Sports customers with Complete, Action and Arena packages from 11 February.
Viewers will be able to access multiple live court streams at the same time via the mobile app, the Sky TV app or red button and on NOW Bonus Streams. The Sky Sports Tennis channel will be on 408 from the 11 February when the channel becomes live, before moving exclusively to 407 on the 13 February where it will remain.
The channel will also be available on Virgin Media and EE TV, and the multiple live court streams will be available to Virgin Media customers via the Sky Sports mobile app and red button and on EE TV as NOW Bonus Streams.
Former British players Tim Henman and Laura Robson will be involved in the coverage, providing analysis. Gigi Salmon will present with Jonathan Overend on commentary. The same team were part of the US Open broadcast last year.
Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, said: “It’s an exciting moment for Sky Sports as we launch a new home for tennis fans, and Sky Sports Tennis will give millions of homes easy access to watch the best players in the world all year round.
“We’re proud to be the undisputed home of live sport for fans in the UK and Ireland, and this new channel will add value for our customers, enabling them to enjoy even more of the sports they love.”
The WTA 1000 event in Doha will be the first big women’s tournament to air on the new Sky Sports Tennis Channel, with Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka among those competing. The ATP 500 in Rotterdam as well as two ATP 250 events in Delray Beach and Buenos Aires will be staged on the week of February 11.
