I haven’t been getting out much, which means I’ve spent a lot of time in front of the TV. Of the four major tennis championships, Wimbledon is the most aesthetically pleasing to watch – players in white running atop perfectly manicured grass – as well as being the most prestigious. At least that’s what the players – Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz – have said in interviews.
But early yesterday afternoon, I could find it nowhere on my television. Carlos Alcaraz, one of the most brilliant shotmakers in the history of the game, was playing Andrey Rublev – I knew from checking the scores on my phone – and Nicolas Jarry was battling Cam Norrie, the last British man still in the tournament. Two matches that, you would think, were worthy of coverage. There was also a women’s match – possibly two – going on at the same time. But the two networks with rights to the tournament, ABC and ESPN, were showing, respectively, an old Jack Hanna show about animals and a cornhole tournament. On a Sunday afternoon. ABC eventually broadcast the tennis, at 3 pm, but for a brief time – actually, for tennis fans, not so brief – ESPN gave cornhole precedence over Wimbledon.
