How can I watch the French Open?
By John Buhler
The 2017 French Open will run from Sunday, May 28 to Sunday, June 11 at Roland Garros. Here is how to watch the 2017 French Open on television or online.
It’s the end of May. In the tennis world, that means it’s time to get excited about some clay. That’s because the hardest tennis tournament in the world in the French Open is about to begin. The French Open is the second of four major tennis tournaments that compose the Grand Slam.
Annually, the French Open is played at Stade Roland Garros in Paris. Roland Garros is synonymous with the tournament. This tournament is usually the most difficult major for tennis champions to win because of the finicky clay surface. Clay courts play slower than on hard courts like Arthur Ashe or grass in Wimbledon.
This is a tournament where clay specialists whose game is predicated on spin can end up winning big. Nobody has done that better than Spain’s Rafael Nadal over the last few years. So when does the 2017 tournament start and how should one go about watching it?
The first part of the first round of the tournament will begin on Sunday, May 28 at Roland Garros at 5:00 a.m. ET. It will run through the next two weeks, concluding with the finals on Sunday, June 11.
During the week, coverage from Roland Garros can be seen on the Tennis Channel. On the weekends, people in the United States can watch all the matches they want on NBC. NBC has had broadcasting rights in the states since 1975.
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For about a decade, ESPN had the right to broadcast some of the matches in the early morning. However, that was discontinued after the 2015 tennis season. If you don’t have the Tennis Channel in your television package, probably check out the available live stream on NBCSports.com.