Tennis Channel counts down “100 Greatest of All Time”

On Monday, March 19, Tennis Channel begins its weeklong countdown of the best tennis players in history with 100 Greatest of All Time. The countdown begins Monday at 7pm ET and continues nightly through Friday, March 23, when the No. 1 greatest tennis player ever is revealed. Press release from Tennis Channel below:

TENNIS CHANNEL TO COUNT DOWN HISTORY’S TOP 100 PLAYERS MARCH 19-23

Special Series, 100 Greatest of all Time, will Unfold Across Five Nights, Reveal Best Tennis Player Ever

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21, 2012 – For the first time in television history, this spring Tennis Channel will rank the best 100 players ever to pick up a tennis racquet. 100 Greatest of all Time Presented by Ally Bank, a five-night, weeklong special series, will cross generation and gender as it counts down the game’s most elite on-court competitors. Airing in prime time at 7 p.m. ET each night, the first edition gets underway Monday, March 19, with the all-time No. 1, the greatest tennis player in history, unveiled at the conclusion of the final episode Friday, March 23.

From Bill Tilden and Suzanne Lenglen, to Billie Jean King and Rod Laver, to Serena Williams and Roger Federer: 100 Greatest of all Time will encompass tennis’ best performers throughout the ages, ranking both men and women on the same top 100 list. The series will include archival footage, interviews and still images from bygone eras as it determines the game’s most remarkable competitors. As the series winds its way toward revealing the No. 1 player, it will factor changes that have occurred in the game throughout the years, among them the advent of an Open Era that allows professional superstars to compete in major tournaments and exponential improvements in fitness and equipment along the way.

The project introduces a significant franchise for Tennis Channel, one that will live far beyond its initial week on the air this spring. Network executives expect the special series’ all-time list to take its place beside widely discussed, highly debated top-100 lists dedicated to film, music, books, actors, athletes, television programs, vacation destinations and other rankings collections.

“This is a televised answer to the old sports saying that great athletes don’t just compete with their contemporaries – they compete with everyone who ever played the game, said Laura Hockridge, vice president, original programming. “No one has devoted this much air time to exploring and ranking the top 100 tennis players in history and, while we don’t think viewers will be surprised with the names at the top of our list, we expect this series to add to the ongoing fan debate, rather than settle it.”

Tennis Channel’s 100 Greatest of all Time rankings were decided by an international committee of players, journalists, coaches, historians and industry representatives. Participants hailed from six continents and included the International Tennis Hall of Fame. During the 2011 voting and selection process, the series’ producers spent several months taping interviews and collecting footage before editing the individual episodes this winter. In all, the entire project has taken about a year to prepare.

Each new edition of 100 Greatest of all Time will debut at 7 p.m. ET throughout the week of March 19-23, with all previous episodes replayed immediately prior. This means that on Tuesday, March 20, the previous night’s opening edition will air at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the second installment at the standard, 7 p.m. ET debut time. By Friday, March 23, the week’s entire run will begin at 3 p.m. ET, with the Monday-through-Thursday episodes preceding the final night’s premiere.

Throughout the spring, Tennis Channel is supporting the 100 Greatest of all Time project with online activity on its Web site (www.tennischannel.com/goat), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tennischannel), YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/tennischannel) and Twitter feed (@TennisChannel – www.twitter.com/tennischannel – with the hashtag #TC100).

4 Comments

  1. John Anderson… what an absolute bigoted moron you are… You use the term ‘reported homosexual’?… What?.. are you writing in the 1950’s.. stupid ignorant fool

  2. Why have Carl Lewis on the Top 100? he is a reported homosexual and not a tennis player? please explain

    • He is only commenting on being a champion, not a tennis champion. Who cares if he is gay or straight ?

    • John, please note, the program had a prominent Athlete from other sports just showing/commenting their view on how much tennis is a grueling sport. These “Narrators” were just commenting or narrators for the sections of the 100 Greatest Tennis Players ever.

      I found this to be very informative, even though I didn’t agree w/all the placement of some players. But it was cool to see.

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About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.