What happens when you miss out on matches that you were looking forward to watching? American tennis fans missed the finals of a WTA 1000 today. Jessica Pegula played against Amanda Anisimova to defend her title, bringing much intrigue to the viewers. However, despite many attempts, subscribers couldn’t watch it live! Now they vent their frustration cursing broadcasters’ negligence over fans.

Pegula defeated Anisimova by 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. However, Tennis Channel repeated their mistake, something they did during the French Open and several other tournaments prior to the slam. Despite being an official broadcasting platform in the USA, Tennis Channel has had a limited slot for showing live matches.

As a result, people then missed out on Djokovic’s four-hour-long matches because they fell out of the given timeslot. “I knew Djokovic-Musetti was a Peacock exclusive, but when matches run past the expected 4-hour window, you would THINK contractual details would allow @TennisChannel to rejoin coverage. The expectation is Peacock would have coverage from 3-7 Eastern, but we’re way beyond that now,” tweeted one subscriber. 

After that same mistake during Pegula’s Toronto final, fans shared how they subscribed to catch live updates and received replays only.

Fans share anguish over Tennis Channel’s poor broadcasting policy during Jessica Pegula’s title defense

Many users took to X and vented their frustration with other users who went through the same issues. “Why do I pay for @espn and @TennisChannel, yet I can’t watch the WTA final between @AnisimovaAmanda and @JPegula? This is some bullshit,” one subscriber wrote. People were frustrated because they missed out on the finals of a WTA 1000 tour because of the broadcasters’ negligence. Madison Keys and Tommy Paul’s matches went through a similar trial during the 2024 French Open. People were left stranded without proper coverage of the American players’ matches. 

Soon more people expressed their frustration with them and wished that some other broadcasting platforms get the rights to all the WTA Tour matches. “I pray that someone else gets the rights to show ALL ATP/WTA tour events. Sometimes TC+ shows 1000/500 every match live, sometimes it doesn’t. No discernible rhyme or reason. The powers that be must realize no one under 50 has cable. How do you expect to build an audience?” wrote one user. This is not the first time Pegula has been snubbed by TC. Her second round clash was also unavailable for streaming which had left fans fuming.

Frustrated fans commented directly under Tennis Channel’s promotional post on X and said, “Howww??? Not on TC Plus we can’t…” It showcased the disappointment of the tennis audience not being able to watch Pegula’s final despite having a proper subscription. Another user directly commented under this and mentioned about looking forward to canceling their subscription. “The lack of live programming on TC+ is very deceiving (and dishonest)!!! Need to look into cancelling my subscription!!!” wrote this subscriber.

Another fan also expressed concern over the replay and said, “Can’t wait for the replay (not).” There was a clear frustration among everyone who believed they could watch Pegula’s victory over Anisimova since they had legit Tennis Channel subscriptions. Now, they have nothing but the replay to watch to get the highlights. In the 2022 French Open, the same issue occurred during Djokovic’s match against Rafael Nadal. People missed out on the match.

Tennis fans urged reporters to make a story on Tennis Channel’s stupidity of not broadcasting the WTA 1000 finals live. “@racquetmagazine hello – curious if you or if you know any reporters have done a story about how Tennis Channel has pulled the rug out from Tennis channel + subscribers? The platform has gone from live matches to barely any live matches, just replays. Looking for answers,” wrote the user. Along with Pegula, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, even Rafael Nadal have not been safe from having streaming troubles in their matches. 

Fans’ disappointment over Tennis Channel’s broadcasting issue remains a constant problem over the months. Despite complaining about it many times, no solution has been presented. Following fans’ recent outburst, Tennis Channel is yet to respond. However, they have little choice besides improving, lest they lose subscribers.