Australian Open 2025 is underway – which means it's time to figure out the best (and possibly cheapest) way to watch live tennis from Melbourne from 12–26 January.
The first Grand Slam tournament of 2025 featuring defending champion Jannik Sinner is expected to be watched by a global TV audience of 25 million, with over one million fans through the gates over three weeks.
Tennis fans can watch the Australian Open for free on the local 9Now streaming service, and on major sports networks such ESPN and Eurosport, as well as via their respective apps.
Ready to see the world's greatest tennis players on court? Stick with us for all the latest on the Australian Open including the draw, start times and highlights...
Watching Australian Open 2025: the essentials
- Date: Sun, Jan 12 – Sun, Jan 26
- Start time: 2pm ET / 7pm GMT
- US: ESPN via Sling/Fubo
- UK: Eurosport, Discovery+
- 🇦🇺 FREE: 9Now (watch in Australia)
- 📺 Our FULL GUIDE to Australian Open live streams
Use a VPN to watch from anywhere
Who won last year's Australian Open?
Jannik Sinner won the first major of what promises to be a storied career 12 months ago, coming from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final. Sinner became the first Italian, male or female, to win the Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka retained her women’s singles title, overwhelming Zheng Qinwen for the loss of just five games in the final. Both Sabalenka and Sinner went on to win the US Open, to take both Grand Slam titles held on hard courts last season.
Where is the Australian Open 2025 being played?
Melbourne Park will again play host to the Australian Open in 2025, just as it has done since the venue first opened for the 1988 tournament.
Previously played on grass, the Aussie Open has been a hard-court tournament since its move to Melbourne Park 37 years ago. The Rod Laver Arena, the site’s biggest stadium and venue for each day’s biggest matches, holds up to 15,000 people, with the John Cain and Margaret Court Arenas able to accommodate 10,500 and 7,500 spectators respectively. Each has retractable roofs.
When does the order of play land each day?
Set your watches for 6pm AEDT / 2am ET / 11pm PT (-1 day) / 7am GMT for details of the schedule for the following day’s play.
Remember, there’s no set time limit for a tennis match, so you’ll need to keep an eye on how matches progress before your favorite player will make it onto court.
Will AI be calling the lines at the Australian Open 2025?
It’s not necessarily AI, but electronic line judges will again be in use at Melbourne Park. Back in 2021, the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to employ technology on every court to call the lines and do away with human line judges for good.
Each match will still have the regular chair umpire, while players continue to have three challenges per set (plus a fourth in the event of a tiebreak) to dispute a contentious call, using Hawk-Eye technology.
Can I watch the Australian Open 2025 for FREE?
You can watch the Australian Open 2025 for free with English-language commentary on the 9Now streaming service in Australia.
9Now will be showing over 300 hours of live AO tennis (not to mention every upomcing Grand Slam), so it's a great option for those who don't want to pay to watch the tennis Down Under.
In the US, there's also the option of signing up for a 7-day free trial to the Tennis Channel to catch some of the tournament. Subscriptions cost $10.99 a month or $109.99 a year when the trial ends.
🌎 Abroad right now? You’ll need a VPN to unblock your usual stream when traveling. NordVPN is available with a risk-free trial for 30 days.
Australian Open 2025 schedule
The tournament takes place every day from midnight UK time (7pm ET) each day on the outside courts and 1am (8pm ET) on the show courts.
- Jan 12-14 – First Round (Women and Men)
- Jan 15-16 – Second Round (Women and Men)
- Jan 17-18 – Third Round (Women and Men)
- Jan 19-20 – Fourth Round (Women and Men)
- Jan 21-22 – Quarter-finals (Women and Men)
- Jan 23 – Women's semi-finals
- Jan 24 – Men's semi-finals
- Jan 25 – Women's final (8.30am GMT / 3.30am ET)
- Jan 26 – Men's final (8.30am GMT / 3.30am ET)
Which player should I watch on Day 1?
Aryna Sabalenka vs Sloane Stephens is the biggest match of the Australian Open 2025’s opening day, with the two-time defending champion facing the former major winner first up in the night session on Rod Laver Arena at 7pm AEDT / 3am ET / 12am PT / 8am GMT.
Big-hitting French wild card Lucas Pouille faces men’s second Alexander Zverev immediately afterwards.
Elsewhere, Aussie wild card Li Tu will look to get the home crowd in his favor as he faces 24th side Jiri Lehecka in the first match of the night session on Margaret Court Arena (same times as above). Earlier in the day, sixth seed Casper Ruud takes on Jaume Munar in what could be fascinating encounter, second on Laver.
What's happened so far at the Australian Open 2025?
Local battler Destanee Aiava has been the undoubted star of qualifying. One of the 16 players to make it through to the women’s main draw after four gruelling rounds, the 24-year-old drew plenty of praise for her performances, plus sartorial points for old-school outfits first made famous by Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic she had sourced second-hand from online retailers.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for fellow Aussie, 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt – son of former world number one Lleyton – who lost in the opening round of qualifying. Rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca reached the main draw of a major for the first time, while Hady Habib will become the first Lebanese male player in the Open era to appear in a Grand Slam men's singles main draw after saving three match points in his final round.
On Rod Laver Arena, Brit hopeful Emma Raducanu beat 2022 Wimbledon Elena Rybakina in a competitive practice set to prove her credentials, while Andy Murray has been running the rule over new charge Novak Djokovic in similar conditions, the Serbian besting Carlos Alcaraz 7-5.
How has the Djokovic-Murray coaching team looked?
Pretty good. The recently retired Scot admitted to being surprised at his former foe asking him to join the Serbian’s coaching team, but the pair have always been friendly off court and grew up together – they were, after all, born seven days apart.
Murray was recently asked how he’d deal with Djokovic’s frequent outbursts directed at his own player’s box.
“I would think that I’d be one of the people that would maybe hopefully understand that side of things,” said Murray, whose ire was often directed to his nearest and dearest in his career. “I know it’s not easy out there, and it’s stressful, and at times he’s going to want to vent towards his team and his box. Provided that he’s giving his best effort and trying as hard as he can, I’m absolutely fine with him expressing himself how he wants.”
Day 3: Aussies, Americans and a teen sensation...
Lots of all-American match-ups coming your way! First up, eighth seed Emma Navarro faces Peyton Stearns at the Rod Laver Arena.
Then world No.4 Taylor Fritz opens his AO 2025 account with a match against Jenson Brooksby on the John Cain Arena.
Over on the Margaret Court Arena, 16-year-old wild card Emerson Jones will face No.6 seed Elena Rybakina. A daunting task for the Wimbledon junior finalist.
Daniil Medvedev and Lorenzo Musetti will also be action on Day 3 of the Australian Open, so make sure you know how to watch it live – from anywhere in the world.
Day 4: More Djokovic-Murray chats and can Habib make more history?
Novak Djokovic's era with Andy Murray in his coaching corner extends to a second match, as the 10-time Australian Open champion faces Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria second on Rod Laver Arena in Wednesday's day session.
Aryna Sabalenka is first up on the show court as the two-time defending women's champion takes on Jessican Bouzas Maneiro. Game of the day could be third seed Coco Gauff against resurgent Jodie Burrage, one of a record six Brits in the second round at Melbourne Park.
In the last match on John Cain, home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on 15th seed Jack Draper eyeing an upset after the latter went five sets in the first round.
Carlos Alcaraz and Paula Badosa will also be action on Day 4 of the Australian Open, so make sure you know how to watch it live – from anywhere in the world.
Day 5: De Minaur goes for round three, followed by a proper Sinner headlining the night session...
With Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz safely into the third round, Jannik Sinner will try to follow suit on Thursday as the top seed begins the night session on Rod Laver Arena against brilliantly named home wildcard Tristan Schookate. Alex de Minaur will also look to get Aussie eyes a-smiling as he takes on American qualifier Tristan Boyer earlier in the day.
Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz will also be action on Day 5 of the Australian Open, so make sure you know how to watch it live – from anywhere in the world.
Day 6: Djokovic, Sabalenka, Alcaraz and, sacre bleu, a delicieux all-French affair
At just after 3am AEDT in the early hours of Friday evening at Melbourne Park, Learner Tien announced himself to the world. The 19-year-old Vietnamese-American beat fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a five-set classic that went to a match tiebreak and caused the biggest open at the Australian Open 2025 so far. Remember Tien's name, the kid can play.
Later on Friday, there's a host of big names due on court, with Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff all in third-round action. Fresh from moaning about schedulers giving him duff match times, men's second seed Alexander Zverev is second on Margaret Court Arena (not before 1.30pm AEDT / 9.30pm ET (Thu.) / 6.30pm PT (Thu.) / 2.30am GMT) against Jacob Fearnley, who beat Nick Kygios in round one.
Fearnley's fellow Brit Jack Draper, the 15th seed and US Open semi-finalist, takes on Aleksandar Vukic, while French numbers one and two Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils meet for bragging rights in the second twilight match on John Cain Arena.
Want to know how to watch the Australian Open 2025 wherever you are? Check out our handy guide that reveals all.
Day 7: It's match-of-the-tournament so far, Raducanu vs Swiatek
Jack Draper came through his third five-setter on Friday, beating home hopeful Aleksandar Vukic and displaying nerves of steel. He'll need that and more in the next round – he plays Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Nuno Borges in four sets, on Sunday. Novak Djokovic overcame illness to beat Tomas Machac in straight sets, Coco Gauff impressed in overwhelming Laylah Fernandez and Alexander Zverev ended Jacob Fearnley's Aussie dream with a comprehensive victory. Aryna Sabalenka is also safely through.
First up on Rod Laver Arena (11.30am AEDT / 7.30pm ET (Fri.) / 4.30pm PT (Fri.) / 12.30am GMT) is arguably the match of the tournament so far, Emma Raducanu vs Iga Swiatek. That's 2021 US Open champion vs four-time French Open winner. Draftkings have it +700 and -1100 for favorite Swiatek, but it could be a classic.
Later on Saturday, home favorite Alex de Minaur faces his toughest opponent yet against 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo. Taylor Fritz vs Gael Monfils, second on Margaret Court Arena, could be a cracker, too. There's a real family affair on Margaret Court, as Monfils' wife Elina Svitolina takes on fourth seed Jasmine Paolini in the following match.
Men's top seed Jannik Sinner faces Marcos Giron as the headline act on Rod Laver Arena's night session (from 2am ET / 12am PT / 8am GMT / 7pm AEDT).
Remember, if you want to check out how to watch the Australian Open 2025 from wherever you are, including for free, you'll need our handy guide.
Day 8: The last 16 starts with a bang
The predicted match of the tournament turned into an overwhelming victory for Iga Swiatek over Emma Raducanu, 6-0, 6-1. There were also wins on Saturday for Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur and husband-and-wife duo Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina who beat the fourth seeds in their respective tournaments back-to-back on the same court. Impressive.
First up on Rod Laver Arena (11.30am AEDT / 7.30pm ET (Fri.) / 4.30pm PT (Fri.) / 12.30am GMT) is Aryna Sabalenka vs Mirra Andreeva. The latter is a teenage prodigy who has the game to do some damage to the tournament favorite.
Later on Saturday, Carlos Alcaraz takes on marathon man Jack Draper in what could be a fascinating encounter, with Novak Djokovic rounding off proceedings on Rod Laver against Jiri Lehecka in the night session.
Paula Badosa has looked in good form and the in-form Spaniard seeks to reach a first Australian Open quarter-final as she takes on Olga Danilovic.
Remember, to check out our handy guide for all the details on how to watch the Australian Open 2025 live from wherever you are.
Day 9: Sinner, De Minaur and husband-and-wife duo seek last-eight spots
A spiky Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz all made it through on Sunday.
On Monday, the quarter-final lineup will be finalized as Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are the two biggest names in action, playing back-to-back on Rod Laver Arena. Alex de Minaur will be desperate to make it to the quarters at his home slam as he faces rising American star Alex Michelsen.
There's also a chance to Vietnamese-American Learner Tien – conqueror of Daniil Medvedev – as the promising youngster takes on Lorenzo Sonego in search of his first major quarter-final.
After dumping out the respective fourth seeds in the previous round, husband-and-wife duo Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina are back in action, too. The former faces 21st seed Ben Shelton and the latter Veronika Kudermetova.
Remember, to check out our handy guide for all the details on how to watch the Australian Open 2025 live from wherever you are.
