Rece Davis to join ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage as studio host

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Rece Davis is picking up a summer job.

The veteran College GameDay host will serve as ESPN’s lead studio anchor for its upcoming coverage of Wimbledon next week, per multiple reports. Davis will replace Chris McKendry, who will continue her shift from the studio to the booth as a play-by-play announcer for the network’s tennis coverage. McKendry similarly shifted out of the Australian Open studio and into the booth in January, with the network tapping Malika Andrews and Katie George to anchor coverage down under. Andrews will join Davis as another studio host at the All England Club, continuing her foray into tennis.

According to a report by Rob Schaefer in Sports Business Journal, Davis initially expressed his desire to contribute to Wimbledon coverage during contract negotiations last year, and ESPN content president Burke Magnus was agreeable.

“If you were a sports fan at all, you grew up watching Wimbledon and being mesmerized by everything that goes into one of the great events on the sports calendar,” Davis told Sports Business Journal. “You get to a point in your career where if you get an opportunity to do something as high-profile and prestigious and memorable, from both a personal and professional standpoint, it’s a blessing.”

The move comes amid a larger refresh in ESPN’s tennis coverage, as the network brings new talent like Andy Roddick into the fold, while having recently moved on from longtime voices Pam Shriver and Brad Gilbert. Roddick, Davis says, has been a huge preparatory resource as he heads into covering his first grand slam, calling his Served podcast “enormously helpful.”

“I’m approaching it with the knowledge that tennis fans are discriminating and demanding, and they should be,” Davis told Sports Business Journal. “The best thing I can do is put my analysts, whoever they are, in the studio in positions to shine and be great.”

Coverage of the full Wimbledon draw begins next Monday, June 29.

The post Rece Davis to join ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage as studio host appeared first on Awful Announcing.

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