Australian Open: Best Streaming Services to Watch Championship Tennis Online

I can watch the 2024 Australian Open from Sunday, January 14th through Sunday January 28th. As a cord-cutter, I won’t miss any of the action since the entire event is available on standard channels through major streaming services.

In a hurry? The Australian Open will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2, and The Tennis Channel. Here are our favorite streaming services that allow you to watch most if not all of the action:

Why You Need a VPN Today

However, first you need a VPN to unblock US streaming services from . Our favourite is ExpressVPN. It’s definitely not the cheapest option at $4.99/month, but it just works – and across all your devices.

They have servers in 25+ US cities/states and 105 countries, which unblock access to premium streaming platforms available only in the US, as well as free “on demand” TV services worldwide.

You’ll have access to local platforms as if you were in the country, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer as if you were in the UK, CBC Gem as if you were in Canada, plus hundreds more worldwide.

Sign Up for ExpressVPN

Hotdog users get three months free at ExpressVPN, so it’s a “no-brainer” for us. Decide for yourself with their 30 day money-back guarantee.

IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

The Australian Open is the first grand slam of the calendar year, and it takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is generally considered to be the most important sporting event in the country. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In 2022 each tournament had a purse of AUD $1.7m, and the winner of each tournament got AUD $270,000.

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Australian Open Background

This tournament was first played in 1905. It was originally referred to as the Australasian Championships. In 1924, it earned its designation as a major tournament by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The ILTF is now known as Tennis Australia, and it is responsible for organizing and running the Australian Open each year.

In 1927, it was renamed the Australian Championships. It wasn’t until 1969 that it got its current name.

Venue

In 1972, it was decided that the tournament would be held in Melbourne each year. Between 1905 and 1971, the event had a number of host cities including Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.

The event was also held in New Zealand in 1906 and 1912. One of the key reasons why the location of the Australian Open changed so frequently was because it was difficult to travel long distances during the first half of the 20th century.

Therefore, holding the tournament throughout the country was seen as a way to make the event more accessible to a larger number of players. But Australia’s relatively remote location meant that it drew few international participants from outside of Asia until the 1950s.

Between 1972 and 1987, the tournament was played at the Kooyong Tennis Club. In 1988, the event finally moved to Melbourne Park where it has been held ever since. Unlike other venues that host Grand Slam tennis events, this complex has a retractable roof and other tools to ensure that matches can be held in relative comfort.

Surfaces

This is a hard court tournament. Until 1988, the tournament was contested on a grass surface. However, since the move to Melbourne Park, players have competed on a variety of artificial surfaces that are designed to mimic the look and feel of grass.

One of the key advantages to using an artificial surface is that it is made from materials that do a better job of repelling heat. This is important because January is the peak of the summer season in Melbourne. This means that players have to deal with extreme levels of heat and humidity.

Recent Results

Although Novak Djokovic had won the event each of the previous three years on the men’s side, after he was excluded from the country due to his COVID-19 vaccination status. Rafael Nadal won the tournament (his second) in an exciting 5 set match against Daniil Medvedev. This year, however, he has had to withdraw because of an injury.

Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, and Roger Federer are among the biggest names to win the men’s tournament since 1969.

On the women’s side, defending champion Naomi Osaka lost in the third round. Australian Ashleigh Barty won the tournament (only her third major) in straight sets over American Danielle Collins.

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Margaret Court are among the notable names to win the women’s version of the tournament.

Where to Watch the Australian Open

In the United States, you can watch the Australian Open on national TV channels ESPN, ESPN2, and the Tennis Channel. But the final matches are normally on ESPN.

If you are interested in particular players, you should get access to ESPN+, which should provide streams of every court.

In Australia itself, the event is covered by Nine Network. Sky broadcasts it in New Zealand. TSN (English) and RDS (French) bring the event to Canada. beIN Sports covers most of the Middle East.

Eurosport broadcasts it to the UK and most of Europe and Africa. (Note: last year, Amazon Prime Video was providing the event as well. Although it continues to stream tennis including ATP and WTA, it will not be broadcasting any Grand Slam tournaments.)

NHK airs it in Japan. Sony 6 has broadcasting rights in India, Pakistan, and nearby countries. Most of Asia other than China is covered by Fox Sports Asia. China is covered by a number of different providers including CCTV and Fox Sports Asia (in hotels). The rest of the world is covered mostly by ESPN International.

2024 Australian Open Schedule

Here is the schedule for the men’s and women’s singles semifinals and final at the tennis tournament. All times are in EST.

Qualifying matches start on January 8th and end on January 11th.

• Thu Jan 25 11:00 AM — Women’s Semifinals
• Fri Jan 26 12:00 PM — Men’s Semifinal
• Fri Jan 26 7:00 PM — Men’s Semifinal
• Sat Jan 27 12:00 PM — Women’s Final
• Sun Jan 28 7:00 PM — Men’s Final

In addition to this, there are matches in the following areas:

Some of the top tennis players who will be battling for the singles titles during the tournament include:

Live TV Stream Services

In the US, you have many good options to watch Australian Open live.

Fubo

For $79.99/month, Fubo (formerly FuboTV) gives you access to ESPN and ESPN2. The Tennis Channel is available as part of the Fubo Extra ($7.99/mo) or Sports Extra ($10.99/mo). The base plan comes with over 100 channels. With Fubo Extra, the number jumps to over 150.

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All Fubo plans come with unlimited cloud DVR and streaming on up to ten devices at once. For more information, see our complete Fubo review.

Sling TV

ESPN and ESPN are part of the Sling Orange base service plan, which is $40.00/month. You’ll also be able to get the Tennis Channel as part of the Sling Orange Sports Extra plan, which is $11/mo. This gives you 45+ channels including MLB Network, NBA TV, and NHL Network.

Save 50% on Sling TV Now

One downside of Sling Orange is that you can stream on only one device at a time. But that isn’t a big deal for a lot of people. And the plan does come with 50 hours of cloud DVR. There’s more information in our Australian Open guide and general Sling TV review.

Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV costs $82.99/month and comes with the entire family of ESPN networks in addition to ESPN+ and Disney+. It does not offer Tennis Channel, but ESPN+ should more than cover for this.

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Still, it allows you to watch the most important matches of the Open as well as a wide variety of professional football, basketball, and other events throughout the year.

All Hulu + Live TV plans come with unlimited cloud DVR and simultaneous streaming on up to two devices. See our Hulu + Live TV review for more.

Other Streaming Options

YouTube TV offers the ESPN channels but not Tennis.

The base DIRECTV STREAM plan ($86.99/month) comes with ESPN and ESPN2. The Tennis Channel comes with the Choice package for $114.99/month. But you do get a lot more than that including access to the best selection of regional sports networks (RSNs) in the industry.

For tennis fans who would like an in depth analysis into the matches, Tennis Channel offers highlights and replays of all the events.

TVs and Devices to Watch the Australian Open Live Stream

All the services we discussed above support most of streaming devices you are likely to have: Amazon Fire TV, Android mobile, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS (eg, iPhone), VIZIO and LG smart TVs, Roku, Samsung smart TVs, Xbox systems, and web browsers.

Nintendo Switch and PlayStation systems are supported by Hulu. Sling TV supports the Oculus VR system.

There are other less popular streaming devices that are also supported. Check our reviews for complete details.

Summing Up

One of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, the Australian Open takes place during the final two weeks of January. Live coverage of the event is available throughout the globe, but if you live in the United States, you’ll likely watch it on ESPN, ESPN2, and The Tennis Channel.

Many streaming platforms offer these networks, which means that you can keep tabs on your favorite athletes without the need for a cable subscription. Our top picks are Sling TV and Fubo.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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