Sky Sports acquired exclusive rights to the ATP and WTA tours until 2028. (Sky Sports)

UK pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports has announced it will launch its first-ever dedicated tennis channel across the UK and Ireland next month.

Sky Sports Tennis will launch on linear Sky Sports television, as well as its Now streaming service from February 11, and feature over 4,000 matches live from more than 80 tournaments a year from the men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour, as well as the US Open grand slam.

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The new channel’s coverage will start with live action from the WTA Tour's second-tier Qatar Open (February 11 to 17) and will continue with the ATP Tour’s second-tier Rotterdam Open (February 12 to 18).

The broadcaster’s coverage will be sponsored by car manufacturer Lexus, the new presenting partner of Sky Sports Tennis.

Sky Sports managing director Jonathan Licht said: “It’s an exciting moment for Sky Sports as we launch a new home for tennis fans, and Sky Sports Tennis will give millions of homes easy access to watch the best players in the world all year round.

“This new channel will add value for our customers, enabling them to enjoy even more of the spots they love.”

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The new channel comes on the back of Sky Sports acquiring exclusive rights to the ATP and WTA tours until 2028 as part of a five-year deal covering the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

As part of that deal, Sky also gained non-exclusive rights to the two tennis tours in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and the South Tyrol/Alto Adige province of Italy.

The rights to the tours returned to the broadcaster for the first time since 2019, with the ATP having been shown by OTT streaming service Amazon Prime Video and the WTA broadcast by BT Sport, now known as TNT Sports, in the time since.

Sky also holds rights to the US Open through the 2027 edition as part of a five-year deal struck with the US Tennis Association in December 2022.

Sky Sports said the new channel be available to customers with Complete, Action, and Arena packages, with viewers able to access multiple live court streams at the same time via its mobile app, the Sky TV app, or red button, as well as on Now Bonus Streams.

Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a Now Sports Day and Month Membership.