ESPN3 – accessible across WatchESPN platforms – will present the 2016 BNP Paribas Showdown live from Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday, March 8, at 7 p.m. ET with two captivating matchups, featuring world No. 1 Serena Williams:

• In the opening match, current world No. 4 Stan Wawrinka will take on French star, No.17 Gael Monfils, both playing their debut match at The Garden.
• Current world No. 1 and one of the greatest players of all time, Serena Williams, returns to Madison Square Garden for a third time to renew a rivalry with her good friend and former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki

In addition, the Williams-Wozniacki match will be seen on ESPN2 at 11 p.m. ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert, Mary Joe Fernandez and Tom Rinaldi will call the matches.

Wawrinka has two Grand Slam singles titles, the 2014 Australian Open and the 2015 French Open, and finished 2015 at No. 4 for the second straight season and in Top 10 for third straight season. Monfils is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at Australian Open and finished 2015 in Top 50 for 10th time in last 11 seasons (all but 2012) and reached at least one ATP World Tour singles final for 11th straight year.

Williams finished 2015 with her fifth No.1 season and came within two matches of completing a calendar-year Grand Slam. She has won 21 Grand Slam singles titles – including three in 2015 – and is currently ranked No. 1, recently becoming the fourth player in WTA history to hit 250 weeks in the World No. 1 spot. Wozniacki is a two-time major finalist and former No. 1, coming off of her eighth straight Top 20 season in 2015.

The BNP Paribas Showdown from MSG will air live in Spanish on ESPN Deportes+ and internationally on ESPN’s networks in 57 countries throughout Latin America including in Portuguese in Brazil and in English in the Caribbean, plus Canada and the Pacific Rim.  In addition, ESPN’s broadband players in Latin America & the Caribbean (ESPN Play), in Brazil through WatchESPN and Australia & New Zealand (WatchESPN) will also stream live simulcast coverage of this event.

In addition, ESPN Classic will present past BNP Paribas Showdown events leading into the live coverage, beginning at 5 a.m. on March 8. Full Schedule:

BNP Paribas Showdown
Tickets for the 2016 BNP Paribas Showdown can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office or through any Ticketmaster outlet. New York City hosts the BNP Paribas Showdown for the ninth straight year, bringing together some of the greatest names in world tennis to celebrate World Tennis Day. World Tennis Day embraces nations from all over the globe in an effort to encourage people to try the great game of tennis and at the same time grow the sport. There are close to 2,000 participating locations in the USA alone; to find a participating location among the 50 states visit www.youthtennis.com. For more information on the various events, including the BNP Paribas Showdown, visit www.WorldTennisDay.com.‎

Upcoming Tennis from ESPN
In addition to the BNP Paribas Showdown from New York on March 8, in the next month ESPN Tennis will present the two biggest events on the tennis calendar outside the four Majors where virtually every top ATP and WTA player competes:

BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif.

• WatchESPN: Over 400 live hours with daily coverage March 10 – 20 providing all matches from up to seven courts, including the three main courts (Stadiums 1, 2 and 3).
• TV and WatchESPN: 23 hours, begins Thursday, Mar. 17, and concludes with the Women’s and Men’s Championships on ESPN on Sunday, March 20.
• Defending Champions: Novak Djokovic (two-time defending champ), Simona Halep

Miami Open presented by Itaú, Miami

• WatchESPN: Over 400 live hours with daily coverage March 23 – April 3, with all matches from up to seven courts, including the three main courts (Stadium, Grandstand, Court 1).
• TV and WatchESPN: 25 hours, begins Wednesday, Mar. 30, and continues through the Women’s Championship (Sat., April 2) and the Men’s Championship (Sun., April 3) on ESPN2.
• Defending Champions: Novak Djokovic (two-time defending champ), Serena Williams (three-time defending champ).

About The Madison Square Garden Company
The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) is a world leader in live sports and entertainment with a portfolio of legendary sports teams, exclusive entertainment productions and celebrated venues.  MSG Sports owns and operates some of the most widely recognized sports franchises: the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Liberty (WNBA), along with two development league teams — the Westchester Knicks (NBADL) and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL).  MSG Sports also presents a broad array of world-class sporting events, including: professional boxing, college basketball, tennis, bull riding and e-gaming events.  MSG Entertainment features exclusive, original productions that include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes.  MSG Entertainment also presents or hosts a wide variety of live entertainment offerings, including concerts, family shows and special events, in the Company’s diverse collection of iconic venues. These venues are: New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; the Forum in Inglewood, California; The Chicago Theatre; and the Wang Theatre in Boston, MA.  More information is available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com

About ESPN Tennis
Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air, providing numerous memorable moments from around the world, but it has never been as important as today, with the unprecedented position of presenting three of the sports Major events from start to finish (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, with exclusivity at the latter two).

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