Yesterday was magical for the American tennis fan. Their homeboy, Frances Tiafoe, was all set to take the explosive Alexei Popyrin, who defeated the Olympic champion, Novak Djokovic, in R3. Popyrin’s impressive performance made him a formidable opponent in the US Open. Meanwhile, Tiafoe’s extraordinary excitement stemmed from the presence of his favorite star, Tony Goldwyn, in the stands and his childhood dream of wanting “to compete on this court.” The magical night was quickly soured by technical difficulties that left 11 million people in the dark just after 7 p.m. ET.

This season has been a disappointing one for tennis fans sitting at home, in hopes of catching some tennis action on TV. At the Wimbledon Championships, broadcasters skipped a live match to show Emma Navarro’s practice session and interview. Though, there was some tennis in that too. But the broadcasting issues during the R4 at the US Open topped all the other this season. There was a breakdown of a contract between Walt Disney Company, DirecTV, and ESPN. Meanwhile, journalist Ben Rothenberg expressed his disappointment, echoing the voices of millions of tennis fans around the nation:

Frances Tiafoe continued his impressive run at the US Open, reaching his fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal in five years. This achievement solidified his status as one of the top American male tennis players of his generation, joining the likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Andy Roddick in reaching three or more US Open quarterfinals since 2000. At the end of this history-making match, Tiafoe came out on the top, with 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3. Getting through a 6’5 tall Popyrin, who etched his name in US Open lore by defeating Djokovic, was not an easy task. However, the American tennis fans were left hanging to watch even a glimpse of the electrifying match!

Tennis fans confused as “hell” over “unorganized” broadcasting services by ESPN

“America has a problem,” said a tennis fan. Unfortunately, the blackout affected more than just tennis fans. DirecTV subscribers also missed out on other highly anticipated events, including the football game between No. 13 LSU and No. 23 USC on ABC and the important NL East matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN.

The multitude of choices presented left another tennis enthusiast perplexed, as they couldn’t make sense of them: “This whole thing is confusing as hell and unorganized. Currently #ESPN2 broadcast is out as well. #USOpen #USOpen2024.” Moreover, this tennis fan was not alone, as another fan shared their confusion about the streaming services: “I have ESPN+ and basically can’t watch any of the marquee matches. What’s up with that???”

While fans tried to use various ways in order to catch Tiafoe-Popyrin live in action, some were lucky enough to get things sorted and share it with the world. For the unversed tennis fans, this user came out with a solution. They said, “I’ve managed to watch it on ESPN3 on a couple of TVs (workout room and kitchen), but not the one in my living room so it looks like I’m hanging out in my kitchen for the rest of the night. ESPN and DirecTV aren’t getting any more fans for this. Don’t they have enough $$ already? 🎾” 

Soon after Disney channels were blacked out on DirecTV, Disney and ESPN released a joint statement. “While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distrbutors…we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.” Moreover, in an attempt to solve the situation, the US Open organizers recommended alternatives such as Hulu, Sling, YouTube TV, and Fubo TV to stream the happening at the US Open. But the streaming is not free unless there is a free trial option. Further creating chaos!

But the woes of fans didn’t end there, as only TV providers can make the ESPN options available for the fans. And not even the ESPN+ subscription could aid them. Hence, those who didn’t have access to TV subscriptions suffered from the blackout. They shared their plight. “This is also generally a problem because nothing can give you ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN3 access except a TV provider – not even an ESPN+ subscription. This makes it difficult for students in the US like me who don’t have a TV subscription :/”

“I have Spectrum, but with a similar plight. Luckily I can access ESPN 2/3 in ESPN+ on my phone app but not on the Apple TV app. So odd.”-said another fan. It seems lightning struck the broadcasters yesterday, and the only sufferers were the tennis fans who were eagerly waiting at the end of their seats to watch Frances Tiafoe slay in style to the quarterfinals!