Tennis on NBC

Tennis on NBC

Tennis on NBC is the name for big professional tennis tournaments shown by NBC Sports, the sports part of the United States television network NBC. NBC has shown tennis since 1955.

Usually, NBC’s tennis coverage happens in the afternoon. But in some summer weeks, Sunday morning shows for Grand Slam tennis tournaments can start as early as 8:00 a.m. This means regular shows, like the political talk show Meet the Press, might not be shown that day.

These special early morning broadcasts let fans watch important tennis matches live, even if it changes the usual TV schedule.

Overview

NBC has shown tennis since August 9, 1939. That day, they broadcast the first-ever televised tennis match at the Eastern Grass Court Championships in Rye, New York. In 1955, NBC showed the first color tennis match during the Davis Cup between the United States and Australia.

NBC has covered many famous tennis tournaments. They showed the US Nationals from the early 1950s until 1964. Famous commentators included Bud Palmer, Jack Kramer, and Lindsey Nelson. NBC began showing The Championships, Wimbledon in 1969. Their "Breakfast at Wimbledon" weekend mornings became a tradition for tennis fans in the United States.

NBC also covered the French Open starting in 1975, except for a short time on CBS. In 2012, NBC extended its agreement to show the French Open through 2024, adding more live coverage. But in 2024, NBC showed its last French Open match. The rights moved to TNT Sports beginning in 2025.

For the Olympic Games, NBC has covered tennis events too. In 2012, Bravo showed 56 hours of Olympic tennis coverage.

Commentators

See also: List of sports announcers § Tennis

Many famous tennis players and sports announcers have shared their knowledge and excitement during NBC's tennis broadcasts. Some of these announcers include Julie Anthony, Tracy Austin, Don Budge, and Mary Carillo, who has been with NBC since 2003. Others include Rosie Casals, Bud Collins, and Jimmy Connors.

NBC has also featured announcers like Donald Dell, Noah Eagle, and Dick Enberg. Chris Evert and Gayle Gardner also contributed to NBC's tennis coverage. More recent announcers include Dan Hicks, Ted Robinson, and Maria Taylor.

On-screen graphics

NBC Sports began using digital graphics on the screen in 1995. These were very simple and only showed text. In 1999, they updated their graphics with a new design. This design had black rectangles with gold edges and colored accents for different sports. These graphics did not show scores all the time. They added score bars in 2005 for college football and hockey. In 2002, the graphics got rounded edges and changed colors to match the sport’s accents.