ESPN in the UK

ESPN has announced its schedule of ATP 250 and WTA International tennis coverage for 2013, which will feature the world’s top players. Following ESPN’s coverage of the ATP 250 Brisbane International this month, where Wimbledon runner-up and London 2012 Olympic champion Andy Murray retained his title, the tennis line-up continues next month.

From February 8, ESPN will bring fans the ATP 250 – Open Sud de France, the indoor tournament which was won last year by Czech Tomas Berdych after a hard fought final against Gael Monfils. The next ATP 250 tournament to be shown will be the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston in April. The tournament is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the US to be played on clay courts.

From May, ESPN will have coverage of the ATP250 Open De Nice Cote d’Azur and the WTA’s Internationaux de Strasbourg, giving fans the opportunity to watch the top women players prepare for the French Open.

The action from the women’s circuit continues with two WTA tournaments during July, starting with The Italiacom Open, which saw Britain’s Laura Robson reach her first WTA tour semi-final last year before Sara Errani became the first Italian to win four WTA titles in a single year. The Baku Cup is regarded as one of the most exciting new additions to the WTA tour.

In September, the ATP 250 and WTA begin the Asian leg of their tennis calendars. The Korea Open in Seoul has previously witnessed top players including Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki. Returning for its fifth year, the Malaysian Open attracts the world’s top players and has provided some of the WTA’s most exciting tennis – most recently last year’s three-set singles final which lasted for more than three hours.

The WTA season is completed with the Tournament of Champions, which sees the top female players compete for the title in an eight-woman round robin format. The players will be split into two groups of four, with the top two from each group progressing to the Semi Finals. Previous stars include Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki.

SCHEDULE OF ATP 250 AND WTA INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS ON ESPN

FEBRUARY 2013

Friday 8^th – Sunday 10^th                          ATP 250 – Open Sud de France, Montpellier

APRIL 2013

Friday 12^th – Sunday 14^th                        ATP 250 – US Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston

MAY 2013

Thursday 23^rd – Saturday 25^th                 ATP250 – Open de Nice Cote d’Azur

Friday 24^th – Saturday 25^th                      WTA – Internationaux de Strasbourg

JULY 2013

Friday 12^th – Sunday 14^th                        WTA – Italiacom Open, Palermo

Friday 19^th – Sunday 21^st                        ATP 250 – BB&T Atlanta Open

Thursday 25^th – Saturday 27^th                  WTA – Baku Cup

Friday 26^th – Sunday 28^th                        ATP 250 – Credit Agricole Suisse Open, Gstaad

AUGUST 2013

Thursday 22^nd – Saturday 24^th                 ATP 250 – Winston-Salem Open

SEPTEMBER 2013

Saturday 14^th – Sunday 15^th                    WTA – The Bell Challenge, Quebec

Friday 20^th – Sunday 22^nd                       ATP 250 – St Petersburg Open

Saturday 21^st – Sunday 22^nd                   KDB Korea Open, Seoul

Friday 27^th – Sunday 29^th                        Malaysian Open

OCTOBER 2013

Tuesday 29^th – Sunday 3^rd November      WTA – Tournament of Champions