The Tennis Channel Original Series No Strings Lands Exclusives With James Blake, Alexandra Stevenson And Taylor Dent

LOS ANGELES, October 13, 2003

The Tennis Channel, , a 24-hour cable television network devoted to tennis and other exciting racquet sports, presents an exclusive, off-the-court look at U.S. tennis stars Taylor Dent, James Blake and Alexandra Stevenson in three upcoming presentations of the network's original series No Strings. The announcement was made today by The Tennis Channel Executive Vice President of Programming and Marketing Bruce Rider.

Taylor Dent: No Strings will debut Sunday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT and will take an up close look at Taylor who grew up in a tennis family and is currently one of the hottest players on the tour. James Blake: No Strings will debut Sunday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT and covers an in-depth and personal glance at the former No. 1-ranked U.S. Junior and Harvard University All-American who turned professional in 1999, signed with a modeling agency in 2001 and earned "Sexiest Athlete" recognition in People Magazine's 'Sexiest Man Alive' issue in 2002. Alexandra Stevenson: No Strings premieres on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT and gives viewers the inside take on one of the more exciting stars on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour.

"Taylor, James and Alexandra are great representatives of the future of American tennis and we're thrilled they would allow our viewers such an up-close look at their lives off the court," said Rider, who also serves as executive producer. "They each have compelling stories of their struggles to reach the top ranks of the tennis elite, which are inspirational to everyone."

No Strings spends the day and a life with Tennis stars off-the-court and getting an inside look at their lives. The Taylor, Blake and Stevenson episodes are the fourth, fifth and sixth installments of the network's original series. Each 30-minute episode features an intimate look at the lifestyles of professional tennis players off the court. The series premiered May 25, 2003, with Pete Sampras: No Strings, taking a rare and behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of the game's all-time Grand Slam champion and has profile other tennis stars such as Maria Sharapopa.

Taylor Dent, is one of the hottest players on the tour winning the last two ATP events. The 22-year-old from Southern California is currently ranked 29 in the world and has won three titles this year in Memphis, Moscow, and Bangkok. Dent had a stellar year in 2002, reaching the third round in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
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James Blake has been ranked as high as 25 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Champions race. His highlights this year include reaching the finals at the TD Waterhouse Cup in Long Island, N.Y., the fourth round at the Australian Open, semifinals in San Jose and back-to-back quarterfinals in Scottsdale and TMS Indian Wells. Blake's amazing story of rising from a kid with scoliosis in Harlem to Harvard, striking good looks and his skills on the tennis court have put him in high demand as a model and product pitch man.

Alexandra Stevenson broke onto the world tennis stage in 1999 when she became the first player to come out of the qualifying rounds to reach the Wimbledon women's semifinals. She has made a steady rise up in the world rankings ever since, reaching as high as No. 18. In 2003, she was selected by team captain Billie Jean King as a representative of the U.S. Fed Cup team, which has defeated the Czech Republic and Italy en route to its upcoming trip to Moscow for the November semifinals.

The Tennis Channel ( www.thetennischannel.com ) is a 24-hour cable television network devoted to tennis and other exciting racquet sports that provides unparalleled coverage of the game, its elite championships and superstar athletes. The network features comprehensive coverage of major tournaments including Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, Fed Cup, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Hyundai Hopman Cup competition and the European tournaments of the Tennis Masters Series. The network also showcases instruction from the finest teachers, legendary matches, in-depth profiles of the greatest players, analysis and news, the latest on equipment and tennis getaways.