CBC inks 5-year tennis coverage deal

When the world’s best tennis players come to Canada, CBC TV will provide weekend tournament coverage through a new five-year agreement with Tennis Canada, the network and Tennis Canada have just announced.

The new multi-platform deal includes coverage on CBC Television, digital channel bold and online at CBCSports.ca. CBC will be the exclusive English language home to the semifinals and final for both the men’s and women’s events, taking place during the same one-week period each summer in Montreal and Toronto.

Things kick off this August with exclusive semifinal and final coverage of the  tournaments August 13 (semis) and 14 (finals), with defending champions Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Britain’s Andy Murray vying once again for victory in one of the world’s great tennis events.

Toronto host - Jim Van Horne

The CBC’s Elliotte Friedman hosts both tournaments with Bruce Rainnie calling the men’s matches in Montreal alongside analysts Jimmy Arias and Justin Gimelstob, while veteran announcer Jim Van Horne calls the women’s matches in Toronto joined by analyst Tracey Austin.
The Rogers Cup (the de facto Canadian Open) is the longest running tennis championship on the professional circuits other than Wimbledon and the US Open, with the Canadian men’s tournament founded in 1881 and the women’s event in 1892. From August 5 to 14 this year, the men will be in action in Montreal while the women will play at the Rexall Centre in Toronto.