Coverage includes qualifying on Max, daily matches on TNT, whiparound show on truTV
By Kristian Hernández, Senior Editor, Sports Video Group
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 – 11:51 am
A new broadcaster has entered the French capital for one of tennis’s most prestigious events: TNT Sports at the French Open. In the first year of a 10-year media-rights deal with the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), the broadcaster, a Warner Bros. Discovery brand, is spicing up coverage of the sport through both linear and digital initiatives, including all qualifying matches on Max, nearly 300 hours of on-court action and studio programming on TNT, and The Rally at Roland-Garros whiparound show on truTV.
“This has been an internal collaboration between our technology, operations, and production teams,” says Chris Brown, VP, technology and operations, TNT Sports. “It has been fun trying to figure out how we can help [the FFT] reach these audiences in a new way.”
Tech Basics: Whisper-Produced World Feed, SMT Automated Scoring, Unilateral Cams
As with many international sports events, TNT Sports is relying on a world feed in stitching together its live coverage of the entire tournament. Whisper, which has been selected by the FFT to produce the world feed through 2029, is in the driver’s seat of one of the sport’s four Grand Slams. The world feed is essential in coverage of the tournament proper, but, during qualifying, the expansive camera coverage used to composite the world feed provided non-stop viewing on Max. In addition, SMT’s automated scoring data keeps track of the numerous courts and creates a cohesive graphics package without clogging up the works for the onsite staff.
“A lot of testing and development went into this,” notes Brown. “We opted to lean into SMT’s expertise around tennis. We wanted a graphics package that combined automation with manual intervention to score every single match.”
Along with the world feed, TNT Sports has control over unilateral cameras on the major courts at Roland-Garros: Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen, and Court Simonne Mathieu. Among them, three RF cameras enable the broadcaster to mobilize production and tell deeper stories by allowing reporters to roam the grounds amongst the fans.
Three pan bar robotic cameras supplied by NEP Specialty Capture (formerly Fletcher) are deployed: two on Court Philippe Chatrier, one on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Supplementing them are a Nucleus camera on each service line of the two courts; Hawk-Eye, controlled by three operators, at each of those two courts; three hard cameras — two on Court Philippe Chatrier, one at Court Suzane Lenglen; and a super-slow-motion camera on Court Philippe Chatrier.
On the audio front, miked players warming up on practice courts are interviewed. In addition, an announce booth at each major court allows the talent to call matches from wherever they are played.
“We don’t always get to control where the talent are located and where the players they want to follow are playing,” Brown explains. “If a player is on an outside court, we can put talent in one of these booths to call the match.”
TNT Sports has a deep lineup of personalities to break down and analyze the matches in Paris. On the broadcast, play-by-play announcers Brian Anderson, Alex Faust, Mark Petchey, and Patrick McEnroe are joined by analysts John McEnroe, Lindsay Davenport, Jim Courier, Chris Evert, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Querrey, and Darren Cahill. Venus Willams, Mary Joe Fernandez, and Jon Wertheim contribute as well.
A Place in Paris: EMG/Gravity Media Supports Three–Control-Room Facility
Given the cramped quarters at Roland-Garros, the broadcaster needed to find space to execute the shows. Unable to deploy a traditional onsite mobile unit, TNT Sports tapped EMG/Gravity Media to assemble a temporary production facility housing three control rooms on the grounds.
“All of our control rooms had to be built in a flypack style,” notes Brown. “We had to do this to answer production’s need for a completely integrated facility.”
Powered by EVS Cerebrum, the production spaces feature Grass Valley Kayenne K-Frame production switchers, Ross Video XPressions graphics, and Calrec Artemis audio consoles. The goal was to construct control rooms that mimic the broadcaster’s home setup in Atlanta’s Techwood.
Inclement weather and prolonged play on any court could create a logjam of sorts in these newly constructed areas. “Those instances could cause some stacking, which could ultimately shift our production or content philosophy,” says Brown. “We needed to make sure that all of the facilities were interconnected.”
Shared Space: Eurosport Joins U.S.-Based Colleagues at AR-Capable Studio
TNT Sports’ daily studio programming emanates from a prominent spot on the Roland-Garros campus. As NBC Olympics did with live studio coverage from the 2024 Paris Olympics, the broadcaster is tapping into broadcast and operations personnel from both sides of the Atlantic. The studio, which will be shared with the crew at Eurosport, is a single building comprising various positions for content, including a main set with a desk and a stand-up location with a large LED screen. Both sets are equipped with a mini jib camera. TNT Sports also has a 30-ft. jib position on the outside to capture beauty and atmospheric shots.
The entire studio has augmented-reality capabilities through Pixotope and Post Logic. Through real-time rendering by TNT Sports’ creative teams, live broadcasts offer AR graphics as bumpers and transitions during matches.
As for connectivity, TNT Sports worked with the FFT to manage a stable connection via fiber to the onsite facility. Not only does this allow tennis fans in the U.S. to hear from new voices, but it also eases the stress on TNT Sports’ onsite personnel and the complex transmission plan needed to distribute a tournament of this size.
“We’re using Warner Bros. Discovery’s media network for both primary and secondary transmission, and Globecast is managing a lot of that network for us,” adds Brown. “We’ve worked with [Eurosport] a little bit on IT infrastructure because of the numbers of people we have out here.”
TNT Sports’ studio programming features host Adam Lefkoe and analysts Andre Agassi, Coco Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens, Chris Eubanks, and John McEnroe. TNT Sports is broadcasting Roland-Garros in the UK, with Eurosport broadcasting Roland-Garros to the rest of mainland Europe, except France. European viewers will hear from familiar on-air talent, including hosts Rachel Stringer, Craig Doyle, and Laura Robson and analysts Nick Mullins, Naomi Cavaday, Anne Keothavong, and Miles Maclagan. On the call, viewers will also hear from Mats Wilander, Alex Corretja, Tim Henman, and Boris Becker.
Along with standard studio shows, TNT Sports has brought its full portfolio of linear channels to Paris to cover every aspect. With traditional broadcasts on TNT, truTV is the home to a new whiparound show that takes viewers to all participating courts. The Rally at Roland-Garros, hosted by Patrick McEnroe and Petchey, is built on the feeds livestreamed on Max. Deploying the graphics package on all outlets helps the whiparound show tie all the coverage together.