Stan Wawrinka has become the latest leading tennis player to have his games live streamed via social media platform Facebook.
The three-time grand slam champion has teamed up with endorsement partner, railway company TGV Lyria, to offer his matches at this week’s Open 13 Provence tournament in Marseille, France live via his Facebook page.
Wawrinka (pictured) will have his matches streamed for his followers in his native Switzerland, along with the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The partnership has been backed by the Lagardère Sports agency, the official distributor of the broadcasting rights for the event in Marseille, which commenced today (Monday) and runs through to Sunday.
Nikolaus von Doetinchem, executive vice-president of global media at Lagardère Sports, said: “The digital disruption is moving forward and we believe in athletes and their platforms as an important part within the media landscape.
“To stream such events on social platforms of the athlete allows us to bring the sport closer to those who seek content about their sport and stars – the fans. Following the project with David Goffin, we are proud to cooperate with such a world-class athlete and multiple grand slam winner like Stan Wawrinka showcasing that we are taking the right path into the next generation of sports broadcasting.”
Wawrinka is currently on the recovery trail following knee surgery that ruled him out of the second half of the 2017 season. During this time, he has fallen to No.13 in the men’s ATP singles rankings.
The matches of Belgian star Goffin during this month’s Open Sud de France in Montpellier were also broadcast live and exclusively in his home nation on Facebook.