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Tennis Channel debuts Tournament Travel Series

LOS ANGELES — Tennis Channel, the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle, will unveil a new original series this weekend devoted to tennis-tournament travel, Tour Guide. The series’ first episode will premiere Saturday, Sept. 7, at 9 p.m. ET, during the network’s fifth year of covering the US Open.

Tour Guide takes viewers on a global trek to exotic cities on the professional tennis tours, and shows them how to plan an unforgettable tennis vacation around local tournaments at historic venues. Each 30-minute episode focuses on a specific tournament while highlighting nearby attractions, landmarks, hotels, restaurants and other noteworthy excursions that viewers can enjoy while in town.

“With Tour Guide we have an opportunity to show our viewers how to plan tennis getaways to places that aren’t necessarily top of mind, and a chance to spotlight a number of international tournaments that don’t get the same fanfare as larger, more-known events,” said Laura Hockridge, vice president, original programming, Tennis Channel. “Whether viewers are traveling with a group or on their own, Tour Guide will show them how to get the best out of the next vacation they want to tie to a wonderful pro tennis environment.”

Tour Guide is hosted by Danielle Dotzenrod, who currently hosts Tennis Channel’s Fans’ Guide series of insider’s tips at the sport’s largest events, and has appeared as a correspondent for the network’s French Open Tonight. In addition to revealing each week’s destination as show host and traveler, Dotzenrod hits with featured tennis players at each city while asking about their favorite moments and things about the local tennis cultures.

For its inaugural episode, Tour Guide heads to Lisbon, Portugal, one of the world’s great historic sites. Beyond its renaissance landscape, the city boasts a rich tennis tradition with the Portugal Open, the oldest combined men’s and women’s professional event. Dotzenrod discovers a number of gems surrounding the tournament, such as a tram ride through Lisbon’s old town and venues for traditional tile painting, iconic in Portuguese culture. In between reports of the local attractions and highlights of the tournament, she also spends time with featured players, Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Julien Benneteau of France, for insight into their favorite things about the city and tournament. Future episodes and locations in the series include (all premieres at 7 p.m. ET):

Sept. 22 — Charleston, S.C. Featured player: Germany’s Julia Goerges

Sept. 29 — Amsterdam, Netherlands. Featured players: Netherlands’ Robin Haase; Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova

Oct. 6 — Bastad, Sweden. Featured player: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov

Oct. 13 — Salzburg, Austria. Featured player: Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella

Oct. 20 — Washington, D.C. Featured players: United States’ Denis Kudla; Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard

Posted on September 6, 2013
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