SuperTennis have been given exclusive rights to show the US Open in Italy until 2027 after a new agreement was reached.

The USTA and SportCast reached the agreement as announced in a press release.

SportCast are the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation Group company that manages the SuperTennis TV channel in Italy.

In the press released the USTA confirmed they reached a five year agreement with SportCast for SuperTennis to show the US Open until 2027.

The deal means that SuperTennis will show the best daily matches live and delayed alongside coverage on the SuperTenniX digital platform, which gives FITP members and subscribers access to stream all matches across the two week tournament.

It also means that the US Open joins Wimbledon, Davis Cup and a number of ATP and WTA events to be shown on SuperTennis.

Chief Commercial Officer at the USTA, Kristen Corio, had this to say on today’s announcement, “SuperTennis has proven to be a trusted home for the sport in Italy,” Corio said in the press release.

“With a number of Italian players at the forefront of this rising generation of talent, it’s an exciting time to begin this new partnership and we look forward to working together with SuperTennis to continue growing the audience for the US Open.”

Meanwhile the president of Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Angelo Binaghi, was delighted with the latest news and talked about the impact it has on Italian tennis, “The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation continues its development policy through the promotion of great tennis in our country, and with the founding of the SuperTennis channel 15 years ago, it brought back the sport of tennis to our dedicated audience,” Binaghi said.

“Alongside providing extensive coverage of Wimbledon, we are now proud to make another tennis Grand Slam available to all Italian tennis fans. The US Open is a tournament that has recently provided some incredible stories, including the historic 2015 US Open final won by Flavia Pennetta over Roberta Vinci.

“The level of access that SuperTennis can provide to its viewers will only contribute to the further promotion of tennis and the increased support of our national tennis players.”

This year’s US Open will take place from the 28th of August until the 10th of September with Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz looking to defend their titles.

Novak Djokovic says he ‘really wants’ to play at this year’s US Open when it is likely he will be allowed to enter the country. 

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is currently unable to enter American territory due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19. All foreign arrivals are required to be vaccinated before travelling to the country under an emergency law implemented to curb the spread of the virus. Although this law is expected to come to an end in May. 

Djokovic had attempted to apply for a special exception which would have allowed him to play Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami but was refused by authorities. Even though he had the backing of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) who pledged their support on social media. Furthermore, American players who are unvaccinated are allowed to play in these events. 

Speaking to CNN about his recent absence, a defiant Djokovic has insisted that he has no regrets about not being able to play. The Serbian has said in the past that he didn’t want to have the vaccine as he has concerns about the impact it might have on his body. 

“I have no regrets,” Djokovic states. “I’ve learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past. And I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment, but of course think about future, create a better future.”

On Monday Djokovic lost his No.1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz who won the Indian Wells title. He has held the top spot for a total of 380 weeks so far in his career which is more than any other player – male or female – in the history of the sport.

“I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to No.1,” Djokovic commented. 
“It’s a pity that I wasn’t able to play in Indian Wells [and] Miami. I love those tournaments. I had plenty of success there. But at the same time, it is the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won’t go.”

Djokovic’s last match on American soil was back in September 2021 when he lost in the final of the US Open to Daniil Medvedev. He is a three-time champion at the Grand Slam and has also contested the final on six other occasions between 2007-2021.

The 35-year-old remains optimistic that he will return to New York later this year as long as the government emergency legislation is lifted. 

“I really want to be playing there, want to be there,” Djokovic said. “I actually had in 2021 when I lost in the finals against (Daniil) Medvedev, probably one of the best moments I ever had with the New York crowd. And I’ve been fortunate to win that tournament three times, play many finals. And even though I lost that match, I received a lot of love and appreciation from people and I want to go back and I want to reconnect with the crowd there. So that’s something I’m looking forward to and hopefully it will happen.”

So far this year Djokovic has won two Tour titles in Adelaide and at the Australian Open. Out of 16 matches played, his only loss was to Medvedev at the Dubai Tennis Championships. 

Andy Murray believes carefully planning his training sessions to avoid overload will help him achieve his goal of returning back inside the world’s top 32. 

The three-time Grand Slam champion has climbed up the rankings this week by 18 places to 52nd in the world following his run to the final of the Qatar Open where he was denied the title by Daniil Medvedev. At the tournament, he defeated Lorenzo Sonego, Alexander Zverev and Australian Open quarter-finalist Jiri Lehecka. It was the first time the Brit has reached the final of a Tour event since June. 

Murray was scheduled to return to action this week at the Dubai Tennis Championships but has since withdrawn from the event. Officially he has cited a hip issue as a reason he is not playing, however, it is understood that his decision is only a precautionary measure and is not linked to his previous problems. Murray has undergone two surgeries on his hip and now plays with a metal rod inserted into his joint. 

“The matches I had last week were physically pretty demanding,” Murray told The Times.
“It was five matches in six days – the last time I did that was in Stuttgart (in June) but because of the surface (grass), the matches were physically really not that challenging.
“I had an issue then with my abdominal muscle and on Friday evening in Doha I was feeling my abs a little bit after the semi-final.
“Because of the experience I had last year, it was clearly a load-related thing because of the amount of tennis I played in a short period, so I was a bit worried about that.”

The former world No.1 says he needs to be more careful about putting his body under too much pressure due to his age and previous injury problems. Instead, Murray is taking a more structured approach to how he trains. 

Using data tracking to analyze his workout plans and focusing on specific areas, the hope is that he can tune up his game without suffering any setbacks. He has already made progress this season by winning six out of nine matches played. Besides Doha, he also reached the third round of the Australian Open before losing to Roberto Bautista Agut. 

As for goals for the future, Murray hopes to climb further up the world rankings and be seeded for a Grand Slam once again, especially Wimbledon where he feels he has ‘a better opportunity for a deep run.’ He is a two-time champion at SW19 and has won a total of 60 main draw matches at the event. 

“I do believe that this is allowing me to be in much better shape,” Murray explained about his approach to training. “I know exactly when I go on the court, how much time I’m going to spend on it and which drills and exercises I do are going to get me to certain heart-rate zones.
“Rather than just blasting yourself twice, once on the court and once in the gym, sometimes I only need to do it on the court if I’m getting the right stimulus from the tennis session.
“My feeling on Wimbledon is that less players play well on grass. More of the guys are comfortable on the hard courts and that probably increases my chances.
“I’m not saying I would expect to win the French Open (on clay) if I played, but with Wimbledon, there is certainly a better opportunity to have a deep run.
“Yes, I have some niggles and my body doesn’t feel amazing, but it’s coped really well with the first few tournaments of the year that have been really demanding.
“My belief is that my body would be fine to play seven five-set matches if needs be. Granted, if they are six-hour ones, probably not, but regular five-set matches, I’d be able to cope with that.”

To guarantee a seeding for a Grand Slam a player must be ranked inside the world’s top 32 before the main draw cut-off occurs. The last time Murray was in this position was back in April 2018. 

Murray is set to return to action next month at Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.