LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21, 2019 – Tennis Channel will have live matches and comprehensive coverage each day of the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, the exclusive year-end tournament reserved for the top eight singles players and doubles teams in women’s tennis. For the first time since 2017 the event makes Tennis Channel its exclusive media home, with Naomi Osaka and her fellow stars competing for the 2019 crown October 27 to November 3. The WTA Finals Shenzhen anchors Tennis Channel’s annual “Chase for the Championships” swing.
Tennis Channel will offer more than 40 hours of live matches at this year’s WTA Finals Shenzhen. Along with the network’s television coverage, digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus will have more than 25 hours of live matches as well as on-demand replays of every match televised or streamed.Tennis Channel’s telecast begins Sunday, Oct. 27, at 3:30 a.m. ET, with an opening ceremony followed by live round-robin singles play (a complete schedule is below).
The network’s on-air team will feature many personalities throughout the week, among them Hall of Famers and analysts Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) and Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin). The two combined to win five WTA Finals titles during their careers. Other commentators include former World No. 5 Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis), 2000 Wimbledon finalist Jan-Michael Gambill (@JanmikeGambill) and former ATP pro Nicolas Pereira (@nicolaspereira). Veteran announcers Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson), Leif Shiras (@leifshiras) and Ari Wolfe will call matches throughout the event. Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) will serve as host for Tennis Channel Live during the week with Davenport, Austin and Arias joining for analysis.
Tennis Channel’s coverage of the WTA Finals Shenzhen will be a part of the network’s “Chase for the Championships,” which bounces between the women’s event and the Rolex Paris Masters men’s tournament with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The WTA Finals is the most exclusive tournament of the year and rewards consistency as only the top eight singles players and doubles teams qualify based on their season-long point totals. Outside of the four Grand Slams, the event serves among the most prestigious on tour. The WTA Finals brings a level of competition that is rarely seen outside the final rounds of Grand Slams, with the top players in the world going against each other head to head. The singles players and doubles teams will be split into groups of four and play a round-robin schedule, facing each player or team in their group. The top two players or teams from each group will play in the semifinals, with the winners facing off in the finals.
2019 French Open champion and World No. 1 Ash Barty leads the group of eight singles players that will play in Shenzhen. Two-time WTA Tour Finals semifinalist Karolina Pliskova, 2019 Australian Open champion Osaka, 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, World No. 7 Petra Kvitova, defending WTA Finals Champion Elina Svitolina and World No. 10 Belinda Bencic will all challenge for the title.
The WTA Finals Shenzhen doubles field has all eight pairings set. 2019 US Open doubles champions Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka are the top seeded team, followed by Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, Gabriela Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan, Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, Anna-Lena Gronefeld/Demi Schuurs and Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova.
Tennis Channel’s 2019 WTA Finals Shenzhen schedule (all matches are live):
Date Time (ET) Event Sunday, Oct. 27 3:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Round-Robin Singles Monday, Oct. 28 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Round-Robin Singles 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Round-Robin Singles 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Round-Robin Singles 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Doubles and Round-Robin Singles 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Doubles and Round-Robin Singles 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 4 a.m.-5:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Semifinals 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 3 a.m.-5 a.m.; Doubles Final and Singles Final 6:30 a.m.-8 a.m.
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