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Tennis Channel Opens Production Facility at USTA National Campus

September 25, 2019

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23, 2019 – Tennis Channel has opened a fully equipped broadcast control room on the site of the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., giving the network a year-round presence at the training center for elite American professional and junior players. The facility, which establishes an East Coast production base for the West Coast-based network, provides Tennis Channel with greater access to National Campus competitions and players, in addition to Florida’s extensive tennis community. It will be put to immediate use September 24-29, as the network carries the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals for the first time.

“Tennis Channel East” is now able to cover matches that take place on any of the National Tennis Center’s 100 courts, with a 24-hour connection to the network’s Los Angeles facilities. The control room will produce numerous events each year, including College MatchDay, USTA League Championships and Junior National Championships. Tennis Channel carried the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships on the campus in May and will do so again in 2021.

Beyond elevating the activities of the National Campus, the network will produce short-form, lifestyle and instructional content from the new control room. It also plans to take advantage of the location’s role as headquarters of USTA professional player development and a point of access to players, coaches, trainers, Hall of Famers and other representatives of the sport. Additionally, Tennis Channel is partnering with Full Sail University to give local students hands-on, real-world experience in live sports production.

“We’re excited to open this production center at the USTA National Campus and set up full-time Tennis Channel operations in Florida,” said Bob Whyley, senior vice president of production and executive producer. “There’s a deep, untapped well of stories to tell about juniors and college tennis, and other aspects of the game beyond the pro circuits. We’re committed to elevating as much tennis as we can and, to that end, looking forward to putting the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup Finals on TV for the first time this week.”

Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus will provide 27 hours of live coverage of the 2019 Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup Finals (complete schedule below) for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1985. From Tuesday, Sept. 24-Sunday, Sept. 29, at 11 a.m. ET, each day, the United States will host the premier 16-and-under world team competition for the first time since 1994.

Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup teams feature rising stars from 16 nations on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Teams compete in four round-robin groups before entering a knockout bracket to determine the winner. As the host nation, the United States automatically earned a spot in this weekend’s championships. The country last hosted the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup Finals in 1994, when the event was held in Tucson, Ariz.

The United States Junior Davis Cup team has won three championships (2014, 2008, 1999). In 2017, the country finished runner-up to Czech Republic in Budapest, Hungry. The Americans’ most recent victory came in 2014, when the team defeated Korea 3-0 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

The American Junior Davis Cup team will be led by Philippe Oudshoorn and features Martin Damm, Toby Kodat and Dali Blanch. Teenagers Damm and Kodat enter this week’s championships after becoming the youngest men’s doubles team to win a US Open match in the Open Era this year. Damm also reached the boys’ singles semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2019. Kodat advanced to the boys’ singles finals at the French Open and the semifinals at Wimbledon, in addition to partnering with Damm for the boys’ doubles semifinals at Wimbledon.

This year’s Junior Davis Cup contenders are Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Morocco, Paraguay, Serbia, Spain, Syria and Ukraine.

On the girls’ side, two-time defending champion United States holds five Junior Fed Cup titles (2017-18, 2014, 2012, 2008). Last year, teenage star Coco Guaff, who beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon this year, led the United States to a 2-1 win over Ukraine in Budapest, Hungry. The United States and Australia are the most successful nations in Junior Fed Cup, with five wins apiece.

Americans set to play Junior Fed Cup this week include Connie Ma, Robin Montgomery and Katrina Scott. Jamea Jackson will serve as team captain.

Other countries to play this week’s Junior Fed Cup include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Morocco, Peru, Russia, Serbia and Thailand.

Viewers can also catch Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup matches on demand on Tennis Channel Plus. Broadcaster Russ Thaler (@RussThaler) and retired tennis star Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis) will be in the booth for Tennis Channel during the 2019 Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup coverage this week.

Former members on the United States juniors team include Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Lindsay Davenport and Sloane Stephens. Other stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have also represented their respective countries in the competition.