How to watch 2026 Australian Open | UK TV channel, schedule & more

Jonathan Victoria • 12 Jan 2026 Guides

The important information you’ll want to know about this year's Australian Open.

Tennis season is back, with all attention turned to Melbourne as the Australian Open marks the first opportunity of 2026 for players to claim major silverware.

As the tournament gets set to start this weekend, find out how you can watch the 2026 Australian Open on TV in the UK, plus more information on the tournament including the schedule, when the final is and more.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open 

The 2025 Australian Open will be available to watch live in the UK on TNT Sports and on Discovery+ on devices such as mobile, tablet and computer.

TNT Sports is the home of sport on EE TV (formerly BT TV), so if you want to stay tuned with this year’s competition, you’ll need a valid TNT Sports subscription.

You can find EE/BT TV packages that include TNT Sports available via Digital TV, all of which will provide you with everything you need to watch all the action from the Australian Open this year plus more from across the range of sports that is available on the channel, such as Champions League football and much more.

You’ll also be given a Discovery+ Premium subscription, which will give you access to the Discovery+ streaming site, where you can watch content on the go. 

2026 Australian Open schedule

The Happy Slam, as the tournament is affectionately nicknamed, officially begins with the 1st Round on Sunday 18th January and will run for exactly two weeks, ending with the men’s singles final on Sunday 1st February.

Here is the schedule for each round:

Men’s singles

• Round 1: Sunday 18th – Tuesday 20th January
• Round 2: Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd January
• Round 3: Friday 23rd & Saturday 24th January
• Round 4: Sunday 25th &  Monday 26th January
• Quarter-finals: Tuesday 27th & Wednesday 28th January 
• Semi-finals: Friday 30th January
• Final: Sunday 1st February

Women’s singles

• Round 1: Sunday 18th – Tuesday 20th January
• Round 2: Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd January
• Round 3: Friday 23rd & Saturday 24th January
• Round 4: Sunday 25th &  Monday 26th January
• Quarter-finals: Tuesday 27th & Wednesday 28th January
• Semi-finals: Thursday 29th January
• Final: Saturday 31st January

Matches will be shown very early in the morning in the UK, with play starting on most days at midnight UK time. Main/show courts will get underway at 1am GMT. Evening sessions will be slightly better for us, with them beginning at 8am GMT.

The Australian Open is prone to having matches run late into the night or being suspended for going on too late to be resumed the following day. 

However, this doesn’t change the overall order of play much but means the winner of those longer games has less time to recover before their next round match. 

That is the reason for the early start, allowing for one extra day so games aren’t scheduled too close together and allowing for fewer late finishes.

When & where is the 2026 Australian Open final?

The 2026 Australian Open finals for the men’s and women’s singles competition will both take place at the Rod Laver Arena, with the Women’s singles final on Saturday 31st January and the Men’s on Sunday 1st February.

As for the time of the finals, they are currently scheduled for an 8:30am GMT start on both days.

Where is the 2026 Australian Open?

The Australian Open is [unsurprisingly] played in Melbourne, Australia - specifically at Melbourne Park.

Melbourne Park is a sports venue with multiple tennis courts and three arenas, the biggest of which is the Rod Laver Arena, which has a capacity of 15,000 and plays host to the Australian Open finals.

The other two arenas are the John Cain Arena (10,500 capacity) and the Margaret Court Arena (7,500 capacity). 

These three arenas make this Grand Slam location unique among the four as all three feature retractable roofs, meaning play can go on regardless of the weather - although with the tournament taking place in January, which is in the middle of Australia’s summer season, it’s unlikely to be anything but perfect weather throughout.

There are also a further three courts that have considerable capacity, with the newest court, named the Kia Arena or Show Court Arena (depending on who you ask), holding a capacity of 5,000.

Show Court 2 (or 1573 Arena) and Court 3 both have a permanent capacity of 3,000. The point of permanent capacity is pivotal there as the remaining 35 match day and practice courts all have temporary standing of up to 2,500 capacity.

What surface is the Australian Open?

The Australian Open is played on outdoor hard courts, although as mentioned, the main three arenas feature retractable roofs to allow for play indoors or outdoors in case the weather isn’t ideal.

2025 Australian Open results

The 2025 Australian Open saw a familiar winner on the Men’s side as Italian star Jannik Sinner successfully defended his title, defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

It wasn’t to be a three-peat for Arynna Sabalenka on the Women’s side, though, as here bid to become the first women to win three-straight Australian Open titles since USA’s Martina Hingis in 1999 was thwarted by, coincidentally, USA’s Madison Keys, who claimed her first Grand Slam title.

Australian Open winners

The Australian Open has a long history, first being played in 1905 known then as the Australasian Championships. Before 1969, the championship was played in the Amateur era. Ever since, it has been labelled the Open era. 

The most successful player of all time in the history of the Australian Open across men's and women’s singles competition is Australia’s very own Margaret Smith Court, who won 11 titles - seven in the Amateur era and four in the Open era, including a record seven straight.

Novak Djokovic is the most successful men’s singles player of all time, winning 10 titles starting in 2008 and with the latest coming in 2023.

Roy Emerson, another native to the country and another all-time great tennis player, boasts the distinction of being the greatest player during the Amateur era, winning six titles, including five straight from 1963 - 1967.

The great Serena Williams is the most successful female in the Open era, winning seven titles in total.

Last 10 Australian Open winners

Most Australian Open wins

Key

OE = Open era

AE = Amateur era

2026 Australian Open prize money

The prize money for men’s and women’s singles competitions is equal, which has been the case since 1984 but consistently since 2001.

This year will see the highest total prize money ever, with a 16% increase to make it a new tournament record of A$111.5m (Australian dollars), or roughly £55.6m.

Here is how much a player will earn at each round of the competition proper (not including qualifying rounds):

• First round: £74,438 (A$150,000)
• Second round: £111,657 (A$225,000)
• Third round: £162,647 (A$327,750)
• Fourth round: £238,202 (A$480,000)
• Quarter-finals: £372,190 (A$750,000)
• Semi-Finals: £620,317 (A$1,250,000)
• Runner-up: £1,066,945 (A$2,150,000)

Winner: £2,059,451 (A$4,150,000)