International sports broadcaster Eurosport has stepped up its Wimbledon coverage by acquiring rights to the qualifiers for this year’s edition of the tennis grand slam.
Eurosport will show coverage of the qualifiers in 34 territories across Europe, with action to be showcased via the Eurosport 1 channel and through the Eurosport Player on-demand service. It will mark the first time that the qualifiers have been televised across Europe.
The qualifiers are expected to feature former world No.1 and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova. The Russian recently returned to action following a 15-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance at the 2016 Australian Open.
Wimbledon qualifiers will start on June 26 in Roehampton, London. The tournament itself gets underway on July 3.
Eurosport will provide exclusive coverage of the tournament in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Non-exclusive coverage will be provided in Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovenia and the UK.