TIME OFF
FIRST Take is going off the air at ESPN for one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
The Championships at Wimbledon kicked off on Monday and will extend through July 14.
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With the massive tennis tournament underway, ESPN will broadcast special coverage of the event starting next week.
From July 1 to July 5, ESPN is airing the matches around First Take, but the schedule will change starting at the weekend.
July 6 and 7 will feature coverage of the third round and round of 16 from 7 am to 1 pm ET.
Going into the week, First Take will be shut down from Monday through Wednesday to make way for the special Wimbledon coverage.
Read more on First Take
July 8 through July 10 will see Wimbledon coverage air on ESPN and ESPN2 from 8 am to 3 pm ET.
The debate show starring Stephen A. Smith will return to TV screens on Thursday, July 11 as the semifinals and beyond will only be aired on ESPN.
Wimbledon has already seen two major players pull out of the competition in the early stages.
No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the women's side due to a shoulder injury.
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"Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won't be able to play The Championships this year. I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating," Sabalenka wrote.
"I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I'll be back stronger than ever next year."
Andy Murray to miss Wimbledon
She described it as an injury to the teres major muscle in her shoulder before the tournament.
"It’s teres major. Like, shoulder. For someone who doesn’t speak very well English, I call it just shoulder injury. It’s really a specific injury, and it’s really a rare one," Sabalenka said on Saturday.
"Probably I’m just the second or the third tennis player who injured that muscle."
On the men's side, Scottish champion Andy Murray withdrew from singles competition .
"I decided not to play. I slept on it, then I told my team and my family that I didn't think I was going to play," he said.
First Take viewing figures
First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 - making it the most-watched year in program history.
Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports' Undisputed.
"The decision was based on how I felt going into the match. I actually trained and I was playing quite well but I just wasn't happy with the way my leg was.
"I wanted to sleep on it and make sure I was happy with the decision, and also give myself a chance when I woke up to see if I felt better.
"I did a bit of running home when I got up in the morning but I didn't feel the way I wanted. I worked really hard to give myself a chance to play and yeah, it was the right decision."
Read More on The US Sun
Murray is still recovering from a leg injury that required him to have surgery.
He will still compete in the doubles tournament alongside his brother Jamie.
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