TENNIS CHANNEL WILL AIR RETURN OF RAFAEL NADAL ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17
All-Time Great will Compete in First Match Since Injury
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15, 2021 – Tennis Channel will show live coverage of Rafael Nadal’s first match in four months this Friday, Dec. 17, expected to begin at or after 10 a.m. ET. One of the most accomplished champions in the sport’s history – and one of three players tied for a record 20 men’s major singles titles – Nadal will compete in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, set for December 16-18. He has not played since injuring his foot in early August.
Nadal is one of only two men to win singles titles at the Olympics and all four of the sport’s major tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Often referred to as the greatest clay-court player of all time, he has won that surface’s most prestigious event – the French Open – a record 13 times. He is also an 11-time winner in Monte-Carlo and 10-time winner in Rome, which host two of the sport’s other top-level clay-court events. He has a record 22 wins against World No. 1 players during his career and was himself ranked at the top of men’s singles for 209 weeks.
He has won the Mubadala World Tennis Championship five times, including the most recent competition in 2019. On Friday Nadal will play the winner of Thursday’s match between 2019 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and three-time major winner Andy Murray.
Former players Mark Knowles (@knowlzee10s), Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone) and Taylor Townsend (@TaylorTownsend) will be in the booth for Tennis Channel during Nadal’s match Friday.
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only television-based multiplatform destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. The network has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television in one of the world’s most voluminous sports, with multiple men’s and women’s tournaments and singles, doubles and mixed competition throughout the year. Tennis Channel has rights at the four majors – US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open – and is the exclusive U.S. home of all men’s ATP World Tour and women’s WTA Tour competitions, Laver Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. Direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis Channel Plus is available to everyone in the United States and allows subscribers to select from another 4,500 live and on-demand matches and award-winning content from short-form to films throughout the tennis season.
Tennis Channel International brings live competition and network content to markets in Europe and Asia via digital subscription and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. Additional platforms Tennis Magazine and www.tennis.com are the largest print and digital outlets dedicated to the sport. Tennis Channel also manages a network of close to 20 podcasts.
