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- TV Coverage Starts March 17, Culminates with Championships on March 22
- Andreescu, Thiem Defend Titles; Djokovic Seeks Sixth Crown in California Desert
- Gauff, Kenin & Serena Among Top-Notch Women’s Field
ESPN’s first-ball-to-last ball coverage across TV and the ESPN app of the BNP Paribas Open from Indian Wells, Calif., will begin Wednesday, March 11. ESPN3 on the ESPN app will offer up to nine courts simultaneously and a total of more than 600 hours, featuring all ATP and WTA matches not on an ESPN TV network.
The TV schedule of 31 live hours (up from 25) begins Wednesday, March 17, and concludes with the women’s and men’s championships in an ESPN2 doubleheader Sunday, March 22, at 4 p.m. ET.
ESPN’s lead tennis host Chris Fowler will be joined by Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert and Brad Gilbert.
- Bianca Andreescu, the reigning US Open champion, will defend the title, which was the first of her career.
- A top-notch field awaits Andreescu, including top-ranked Ash Barty, No. 2 Simona Halep (2015 champion), No. 5 and Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin, No. 9 Serena Williams who has won the event twice, but not since 2001 (she boycotted it for many years), No. 10 Naomi Osaka and 15-year-old phenom Coco Gauff.
- The 2019 men’s winner, Dominic Thiem, the recent Australian Open finalist, will face a gauntlet of all-time greats with great track records at this event: Novak Djokovic (five wins at Indian Wells) and Rafael Nadal (three). Between them, the duo has taken 8 of the last 13 winner’s checks.
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network |
| Mar 11 – 22 | 2 p.m. – finish | BNP Paribas Open –
ATP & WTA feeds, up to 9 courts |
ESPN3 |
| Tue, Mar 17 | 2 – 6 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Third Round / Round of 16 | ESPNEWS |
| Wed, Mar 18 | 2 – 6 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Round of 16 / Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| Thu, Mar 19 | 2 – 6 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | |
| Fri, Mar 20 | 2 – 6 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Men’s Quarterfinal | ESPN |
| 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Women’s Semifinal | ESPNEWS | |
| Sat, Mar 21 | 2 – 6 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Men’s Semifinals | ESPN |
| Sun, Mar 22 | 4 – 9 p.m. | BNP Paribas Open – Men’s & Women’s Championships | ESPN2 |
Next Tennis from ESPN
ESPN will have extensive coverage of the Miami Open presented by Itaú beginning Wednesday, March 25, including first-ball-to-last-ball coverage on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. TV joins on Tuesday, March 31, and continues through the semifinals and championships.
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Media Contacts: Diane Lamb [email protected]; Michael Skarka [email protected]
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