RedZone During US Open a ‘Major Step Forward’ for Tennis Fans, McEnroe Says

ESPN introduces whip-around show for U.S. Open Tennis Championships

Professional tennis has, at times, struggled to hold onto viewers due to the sheer length of matches. But during this year’s U.S. Open Tennis Championships, ESPN is unveiling a potential solution: the sport’s very own RedZone.

Starting August 30, the first day of the tournament, tennis fans can watch “RedZone at the U.S. Open” — a whiparound show featuring live look-ins of every match, every day, through September 4. The show is available only to ESPN Unlimited subscribers.

The new viewing experience takes a page from NFL RedZone, which has existed since 2009 and has become an essential channel for passionate pro football fans.

ESPN acquired rights to the RedZone brand in its deal with the NFL, which went into effect in January.

Former tennis stars sound off on addition of RedZone

Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez have seen it all in professional tennis, whether as players or analysts. But they’re excited about what the new RedZone experience can mean for tennis fandom moving forward.

“RedZone to me is going to be amazing,” McEnroe said during a conference call with reporters in advance of the tournament. “I think that’s going to be super fun for the fan.”

Fernandez still loves watching matches in their entirety. But she knows that preference is becoming rarer, particularly among younger people with notoriously lower attention spans.

“[Fans] don’t always want to see a match from start to finish,” Fernandez said. “But to be able to go to the big points and the big moments, I think that’s fantastic.”

Does RedZone mark the future of watching tennis?

I’m more like Fernandez — if I’m watching tennis, I wanna be there for the whole thing. I was on the edge of my leather recliner for all five hours and 29 minutes of Carlos Alcaraz’s epic five-set comeback over Jannik Sinner in 2025 at the French Open.

Also like Fernandez, I like watching as much tennis as I can. I just don’t have that kind of time. So, for a fan like me, “RedZone at the U.S. Open” sounds very attractive. And I’d imagine it’s a good entry point for fans just getting into the sport, too.

McEnroe said the sport needs to attract younger viewers, and hopes RedZone could be part of that.

“They want to see lots of stuff,” McEnroe said of younger fans. “They want to get a lot of information. I think they also want the ability to communicate, put in their comments maybe up like they do on YouTube when you do a stream, something like that. I’m hoping we can try some of that stuff with RedZone.”

Fernandez echoed McEnroe’s point of attracting younger viewers. She recalled spending time at her tennis club in Ohio and noticing the younger players watching the Cincinnati Open on their phones.

“Interactive for the young fans,” Fernandez said. “It’s great if you can make comments like Patrick said. But everything now has to be easy, right? Have to be able to find it fast, get to the highlight quickly. … I think that’s the future. We need to keep improving and keep making it accessible on all platforms.”

With ESPN carrying three of the four tennis majors — TNT Sports has Wimbledon — the network has a large testing ground for its version RedZone. Maybe the name will change in the future to something more related to tennis rather than the last 20 yards of a football field.

“I think RedZone is a major step forward for us,” McEnroe said.

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