Genius Sports Group and Topnotch Management (TNM) have confirmed the launch this week of the Grand Slam Tennis Tours MatchPlay 120 series, a brand new tournament featuring players ranked inside the ATP and WTA top 300.
The series will provide fans, players, media publishers and sportsbook operators with over 120 live tennis matches across a six-week period. It will showcase players drawn from the Top 100 world rankings highlighting many household tennis names such as 2020 Australian Open quarter finalist Tennys Sandgren, four-time ATP Tour title-winner Stevie Johnson, and WTA Tour title-winner Lauren Davis.
Genius Sports Group will deliver a host of live betting markets on the new MatchPlay 120 series as well as fast, high-quality video streams to sportsbook operators through its GeniusLive technology. Powered by AI, the GeniusLive automated camera and production system will capture the action court side, eliminating any need for camera crews.
Topnotch Management, which manages numerous ATP and WTA athletes, as well as events on the ATP Challenger Tour, will operate multiple court locations around the US. It will also work closely with Genius Sports Group and Grand Slam Tennis Tours to deliver interactive Match Centers for fans, combining live streams, daily schedules and orders of play, scores, leaderboard information, and more.
“This is an ambitious solution to the current situation and it’s a project that counts as a win on multiple fronts”, explained TNM Event Director, Kyle Ross. “All groups involved here have demonstrated exceptional agility and we’re really proud, first of all, to provide job opportunities for professional players at a time when there’s been a lot of attention on the challenges they face.
“Additionally, the series brings tennis fans around the world a reliable schedule of tennis matches between high-level players, and partnering with Genius Sports provides a great opportunity for us to engage the sportsbook audience and ultimately power the launch of the series.”
Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports Group, commented: “The launch of the MatchPlay 120 series is exciting news for the world of tennis and sports fans everywhere. Over a six-week period, GeniusLive, our unique streaming technology, will broadcast over 200 hours of premium tennis for our media partners and sportsbook customers.
“Given the current environment, it is uplifting to see the use of new technologies come to the fore that enable tennis fans everywhere to watch their favorite sport live again.”
Significant considerations have been made regarding covid-19, and beyond not having any fans and minimal on-site footprints, the event will adhere to local guidance and apply significant safety protocols with regards to match play.
