The Mouratoglou Academy in France will host the first event of 2021 on 24-25 May.

UTS

The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) is returning for its second season on Eurosport.

With shortened matches made up of quarters and a potential sudden death, mid-match interviews, coaching, UTS cards and a loosened code of conduct, the competition will feature a number of tennis’ biggest stars in various iconic locations.

Eurosport has secured the rights the rights to all of the UTS Season 2 events on a pan-European basis (excluding France) as well as in India in 2021. It joins all four tennis Grand Slams across much of Europe, in addition to rights to broadcast the ATP Tour in 10 markets and WTA Tour in Russia on Eurosport.

The first event is being held a the Mouratoglou Academy in southern France on 24-25 May, ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros. Daniil Medvedev, Diego Schwartzman, and Fabio Fognini will be the headline names taking part.

Trojan Paillot, VP Rights Acquisitions, Eurosport, said: “We are delighted to be able to bring the UTS to the screens of millions of tennis fans across the world once again after a successful series in 2020. The UTS has clear has synergies with Eurosport – both look to constantly innovate and both look to continue to push the boundaries in order to appeal to new and younger audiences.

“With some of the top players in the world taking part in this relatively young format, it should be both a highly watchable tournament with plenty of world-class action on the court.”

Patrick Mouratoglou added: “Eurosport was a key player in the success of UTS Season 1, which has been seen by millions of fans around the world. It was an obvious choice to partner with Europe’s leading sports channel for the broadcasting of UTS Season 2. One of our goals is to democratize tennis and attract a larger and younger fanbase, and we know that through Eurosport, we will be able to reach out to a very large and passionate audience.”