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+
• 🇦🇺 Australia (FREE): 9Now
• 📺 Our FULL GUIDE to Australian Open live streams

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.