In the era of “Watch More Doubles” as French tennis player Alexandre Muller wrote on the camera in Rio after defeating Joao Fonseca, the Tennis Channel made an interesting programming decision.
Alexandre Muller did this after his R16 singles win in Rio…#WatchMoreDOUBLES
h/t @84chaki pic.twitter.com/EsxyBBB08G
— Will Boucek (@WillBoucek) February 21, 2025
It chose to air a repeat of Alexander Zverev’s Friday night upset loss at the Rio Open instead of live coverage of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships women’s doubles final.
As I previously reported, this was a final loaded with talent, featuring the first and third-ranked doubles teams and a rematch of last month’s Australian Open final featuring Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova playing Jelena Ostapenko and Su-Wei Hsieh.
Australian Open final rematch 🌟@K_Siniakova and @TaylorTownsend 🆚 Hsieh Su-Wei and @JelenaOstapenk8 for the Dubai 🏆#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/v5zCsTnqnl
— wta (@WTA) February 22, 2025
Doubles tennis has been a hotly contested subject as the US Open is trying a new method for mixed doubles competition this fall. Some believe the US Open is treating doubles like an exhibition instead of a legitimate event with top-level players.
Unfortunately, the Tennis Channel’s choice to not show live coverage of the Dubai doubles final when there were no other live events on the docket on Saturday morning does not advance the sport for fans.
The Tennis Channel will say that its Tennis Channel app subscribers could watch Siniakova and Townsend hoist the trophy with a straight-set victory (7-6, 6-4). While that is true, the people not paying for a monthly subscription that the sport is trying to appeal to missed out on a great match.
The DREAM duo in Dubai! 🏆🤩
Top seeds @K_Siniakova & @TaylorTownsend hold off Hsieh & Ostapenko to add another title to their collection!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/wuXxZX6B66
— wta (@WTA) February 22, 2025
Congratulations to Siniakova and Townsend. Hopefully, fans can catch the great win on a rerun on Tennis Channel.
