Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nine onsells the Hopman Cup and multi-court coverage of the Australian Open to Fox Sports, and the Sydney and Brisbane Internationals to ESPN (ATP) and beIN Sports (WTA)
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NINE REVEALS DYNAMIC NEW TEAM FOR 2019 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Nine today announced an all-star lineup of commentators and hosts who will lead the inaugural year of its landmark six-year broadcast deal with Tennis Australia.
When the Australian Open begins on January 14, Nine will be the new home of tennis, with the tournament’s best matches and biggest moments broadcast across the network’s suite of channels and 9Now, to ensure Australians get the best tennis experience available, anytime, anywhere and on a device of their own choosing.
Spearheading Nine’s supercharged commentary will be Grand Slam legend and superstar, John McEnroe. One of the most in-demand broadcasters in the world, viewers can expect the International Tennis Hall of Famer to be at his outspoken best. One of the all-time greats, McEnroe won seven Grand Slam tournaments (four US Opens, three Wimbledons) among his 77 singles titles, as well as 72 doubles titles. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in both categories.
Joining him with expert analysis and unparalleled insight into the game will be the highly experienced broadcaster, Jim Courier. Ranked No. 1 in the world in 1992-93, Courier is one of the sport’s most popular characters. In his 12-year playing career, Courier won two French Opens and two Australian Opens.
A roll-call of homegrown heroes will also usher in an exciting and dynamic new era in sports broadcasting.
Versatile commentator Todd Woodbridge will join Nine’s fresh new lineup. One of the most successful and dominant doubles players in history, Woodbridge racked up 16 major men’s doubles titles, including nine Wimbledons, three US Opens, three Australian Opens and one French Open.
Alicia Molik, the current Australian Fed Cup captain, will provide unrivalled access and insight into the best female players. Molik broke into the world Top 10 in 2005, and won the doubles title at the 2005 Australian Open and the French Open in 2007.
Also joining the new-look team are Jelena Dokic, Sam Groth and Dylan Alcott.
At the age of 16, Jelena Dokic caused one of the biggest upsets in tennis history by beating world No. 1 Martina Hingis at Wimbledon. By the time she was 19, Dokic was ranked No. 4 in the world. She has also penned the best-selling autobiography Unbreakable, a book which details her career and well-documented family life.
Sam Groth won the 2015 Newcombe Medal, awarded to Australia’s most outstanding tennis player for the year, and holds the world record for the fastest serve recorded in a tournament – a bullet-like 263.4 km/h.
Dylan Alcott is undoubtedly one of the most inspirational stories in Australian sport. From 2015-18, he won four consecutive Australian Open quad wheelchair singles titles and will be aiming for five in a row in 2019.
A fresh lineup featuring Rebecca Maddern, James Bracey and Tony Jones will host Nine’s new-look tennis coverage.
Award-winning journalist Rebecca Maddern has previously covered the Australian Open as well as many of the world’s biggest sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne Cup and AFL. Since joining Nine in 2016 she has become one of the network’s most versatile performers.
Since earning his stripes at Foxtel, in a short time the charismatic sports fanatic James Bracey has become an integral contributor to Nine’s team, with duties spanning the network’s NRL coverage, hosting Sports Sunday and 100% Footy, and reporting on Today.
After more than 30 years at Nine, there are few sporting events that Tony Jones has not been involved with. Whether it be the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the AFL or the Ashes, TJ has proved himself to be the master of sports presenting and reporting.
Tom Malone, Head of Sport for Nine, said: “For generations, Nine’s Wide World of Sports has set the benchmark that all others follow and we are confident that our new deal with Tennis Australia will continue that tradition.
“We have assembled a team of fresh faces while bringing back some familiar names who are the best at what they do. The Australian Open is the country’s pre-eminent summer sporting event and we’re confident our new-look team will help to instil a renewed passion for the game into lovers of tennis around Australia.”
Nine’s six-year broadcast deal encompasses the Australian Open in Melbourne as well as the lead-up tournaments around Australia – the Hopman Cup in Perth and the Brisbane and Sydney Internationals. Plus, Nine’s Wide World of Sports will give you the best seat in the house to Australia’s Davis Cup tie in September and the Fed Cup in February.
Further announcements on Nine’s commentary team will be revealed in the coming months.
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What a team.
Woodbridge and Courier aside, great team
I never knew that.
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I’m kind of surprised that Cameron Williams hasn’t been announced as being one of the main presenters for Nine’s Tennis Coverage. Isn’t he supposed to be “the (main) face/voice of Nine’s Wide World Of Sport” since the retirement of Ken Sutcliffe? Or have they moved more towards James Bracey for that role recently?
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More announcements coming soon mate.
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While Nine has put together a really good team, think it’s a stretch on the commentator side to call it a ‘new-look’ one considering everyone bar McEnroe and Groth were part of Seven’s coverage.
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So for Hopman Cup - I believe Michael Thomson, Paddy Sweeney will be presenting from Perth Arena.
Brisbane International - James Bracey will be in the Queensland Tennis Centre (perhaps)?
Looks smart for James as he can cross-promote during remaining NRL, surely inevitable
Where did you hear that? Anyway hopefully you’re on the money, because what about Rennae Stubbs, Geoff Masters, Sam Smith, etc.
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So essentially the same commentary team that Seven had so far bar John McEnroe. Not sure who John was working for in the past at AO. He tends to go between a few different networks at the slams. I think he’s losing his marbles but I understand why Nine got him.
Todd Woodbridge is a hack, and Molik is not too far behind. I didn’t mind Groth when he was commentating for Fox sports at the French.
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Matthew Pavlich, Michael Thomson and Paddy Sweeney
It’s actually a pretty ordinary team
Superbrat is getting old, Courier is at best ok, Woodbridge is meh and the Nine Sports crew, oh gees, what next rolling out Gould to say “NO NO NO NO NO” ?
Okay it won’t get that bad but Nine needs new blood, their was an opportunity here for that but typical Channel 09 have decided to opt for the Sydney crew to do a national sporting event.
Aren’t Rebecca Maddern and Tony Jones based in Melbourne? Not exactly a ‘Sydney’ crew.
The team sounds good on paper but I want to see them for myself before I make a judgment.
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Yeah, same old voices that made 7’s Coverage a bit of a snooze. I rated Renae Stubbs but the rest were the same old voices.
9 were always going to use their own front people but would have been nice to also see sine new experts on the coverage. Andy Roddick is a great, unique voice and one I’d have pursued. Same with Casey Dellacqua.
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So Nine’s tennis deal starts much earlier than expected, with the Davis Cup tie between Austria and Australia next month. But the deal does not include the Hobart International as previously announced, nor the Kooyong Classic.
ESPN? Eurosport?
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