ESPN, USTA Extend Relationship With New 12-Year Agreement for U.S. Open Tennis

ESPN and the United States Tennis Association have extended their relationship with a new, 12-year agreement that will keep the U.S. Open on ESPN through 2037. 

The deal renewal, which begins in 2026 and is ESPN’s longest-term tennis agreement, will continue to make ESPN the home of the entire U.S. Open in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in Canada on TSN and RDS. With the new pact, the USTA will take over host broadcaster duties from ESPN, which will focus its production resources on more than 260 hours of annual coverage planned for the U.S., as well as hundreds of hours for international territories. 

The deal will mark expanded streaming rights for ESPN, giving the network the flexibility to roll out additional ways for American fans to watch U.S. Open content. Its Expanded Fan Week coverage will include daily live coverage on ESPN2 and distribution of the primetime exhibition events that debuted this year on ESPN platforms. Availability of all play across all courts daily will be included as well.

ESPN began broadcasting U.S. Open matches in 2009, dividing the media rights with CBS, before the Disney-owned sports giant grabbed the entire tennis tournament in 2015 in a deal that runs through 2025.

“We take tremendous pride in our 15-year relationship with the USTA,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in announcing the pact. “This agreement reinforces our long-term dedication to tennis, our capacity to showcase one of the premier events on the annual sports calendar and, as the world’s first sporting event to offer equal purses for its female and male competitors, the Walt Disney Company’s industry-leading commitment to women’s sports.”  

The agreement will debut whip-around coverage scheduled to premiere on ESPN+ during the first week of the 2026 U.S. Open main draw. ABC will continue to cover the U.S. Open’s middle Sunday and final Sunday matches. In addition, ESPN Deportes will produce daily Spanish-language coverage in the U.S. The deal also gives ESPN “limited sublicense rights.”

The deal was brokered by IMG, the USTA’s media rights representative. “This ESPN deal is groundbreaking, not only for the USTA and U.S. Open, but for tennis globally,” said Hillary Mandel, EVP and Head of Americas, Media at IMG, in a statement. “The new agreement will super-charge this iconic, captivating Grand Slam’s exposure, production, promotion, content, and economic investment, ensuring record year-on-year growth for the next decade and beyond.”