LOS ANGELES, CA – The WTA Tour is launching a 12-episode television series, bringing the off-court passions and lifestyles of women’s professional tennis stars closer than ever to fans worldwide, the Tour announced Monday at the JPMorgan Chase Open in suburban Los Angeles.
The magazine-style show, sponsored by Dubai Duty Free and entitled ‘Dubai Duty Free presents Real Life On The WTA Tour,’ will be packed each month with intimate features, compelling human-interest stories and rare behind-the-scenes footage that showcases the entertainment and atmosphere of the leading professional sport for women in the world.
The 30-minute shows, produced by the Tour and KC Productions, debut on July 26 on Eurosport, potentially exposing the women’s game to 240 million viewers in 54 countries each year. The series will also air on The Tennis Channel in the United States starting on Aug. 8.
‘This show will regularly deliver rare glimpses of the personalities and interests of the biggest stars in the game in a way that will make fans feel closer to them than ever before,’ said WTA Tour Director of Broadcast Media Anne Hartman, the show’s executive producer. ‘The fact that this is the first Tour-produced show means our film crews have total access to all of the behind-the-scenes glamour and intrigue taking place around the world with our top players.
‘For the first time ever, audiences will see what real life is like for the players on the WTA Tour.’
The initial four episodes of ‘Real Life’ are complete and include footage from Tour events held earlier this year in Dubai, Amelia Island, Charleston, Rome, Berlin, Paris and Wimbledon. The premiere episode features Serena Williams on a shopping trip in Charleston and getting ready for an awards gala; a day-in-the-life with Justine Henin-Hardenne at Saddlebrook Resort near Tampa, Florida; and rising star Maria Sharapova during her recent Italian Vogue magazine photo shoot.
Upcoming episodes will be filmed at Tour events in New Haven (starting Aug. 23), the US Open (Aug. 30), Philadelphia (Nov. 1) and the season-ending WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche in Los Angeles (Nov. 10).
‘It is going to be a lot of fun to invite fans inside our personal off-court lives,’ world No.7 Jennifer Capriati said. ‘I think the viewers are going to see and learn things about us that they probably never knew before.’
The ‘Real Life’ television series will compliment the Tour’s recently-launched European television news service. The news service creates and distributes highlights of major European Tour events to broadcast media outlets around the world, further expanding the visibility of the game.
The television series is a component of the Tour’s commercial partnership with Dubai Duty Free, one of the world’s leading airport retailers. Dubai Duty Free serves as presenting sponsor of the Tour’s Asia-Pacific/Middle East region and official global duty free partner, in addition to presenting sponsor of the television series.
For more details contact:
Darrell Fry
WTA Tour
+1 727 515 1709
dfry@watatour.com