ESPN and the United States Tennis Association have extended their relationship with a new 12-year agreement that will keep the US Open on ESPN through 2037.
The deal extension, which takes effect in 2026 and is ESPN’s longest-term tennis agreement, will continue to make ESPN the home of the entire US Open in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Canada on TSN and RDS. Under the new pact, the USTA will take over hosting 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 marks expanded streaming rights for ESPN, giving the network the flexibility to roll out additional ways for US fans to watch US Open content. Fan Week’s expanded coverage includes daily live coverage on ESPN2 and distribution of the primetime exhibition events that debuted on ESPN platforms this year. The availability of all play on all courses will also be recorded daily.
ESPN began broadcasting US Open matches in 2009, splitting media rights with CBS, before the Disney sports giant acquired the entire tennis tournament in 2015 in a deal that runs until 2025.
“We are extremely proud of our 15-year relationship with the USTA,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in announcing the pact. “This agreement reinforces our long-term commitment to tennis, our ability to showcase one of the most important events on the annual sporting calendar and, as the first sporting event in the world to offer equal prizes to female and male competitors, the industry’s Walt Disney Company—Leading Commitment to Women’s Sports.”
The deal will debut expanded coverage expected to premiere on ESPN+ during the first week of the 2026 US Open main draw. ABC will continue to cover the middle Sunday and final Sunday matches of the US Open . In addition, ESPN Deportes will produce daily Spanish-language coverage in the US. 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 just for the USTA and US Open, but for tennis worldwide,” said Hillary Mandel, EVP and Head of Americas, Media at IMG, in a statement. “The new agreement will boost the awareness, production, promotion, content and economic investment of this iconic and compelling Grand Slam, guaranteeing record annual growth for the next decade and beyond.”
