Australian Open 2026: How to Watch, Betting Odds and Favorites to Win

Jannik Sinner won the 2025 Australian Open. | Mike Frey-Imagn Images

It’s time again for the first tennis major of the 2026 season with the Australian Open about to be underway.

There’s some interesting storylines to look for heading into this year’s Australian Open. Two players are looking to complete their career grand slams—Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. Alcaraz would be the youngest men’s player to achieve this feat. Jannik Sinner is aiming to capture a three-peat in Melbourne to establish himself as the next great hard court player. The player who owns that title now is Novak Djokovic, who is looking to win his 11th Australian Open title to reach that elusive 25th major title.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Australian Open when watching this year.

Key dates

Sunday, Jan. 18: The 2026 Australian Open begins with the first round of men’s and women’s singles.

Saturday, Jan. 31: The women's singles final will take place at Rod Laver Arena.

Sunday, Feb. 1: The men’s singles final will take place at Rod Laver Arena.

How to watch the Australian Open

ESPN: ESPN channels will be the main home for this year’s Australian Open. Fans can tune into the main ESPN channel to watch the action throughout the tournament, but more specifically in the second week. ESPN will also host the men’s and women’s singles finals.

ESPN2: The secondary ESPN channel is truly the main home for the Australian Open, especially in the first week. ESPN2 will show encore clips of the tournament as well.

ABC: On Sunday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 31, ABC will host an hour-long highlights program to sum up what has happened in the tournament to that point.

ESPN+: ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+, will show additional courts that aren’t shown on ESPN or ESPN2 at the time.

Disney+: Fans can access the tournament through ESPN’s partnership with the Disney+ app. This will mark the first time tennis fans can watch the action on the Disney+ app.

Date	Round	Channel	Time (ET)
Saturday, Jan. 17	First Round	ESPN2	10 p.m.–3 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 18	First Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m., 7 p.m.–3 a.m.
Monday, Jan. 19	First Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m., 11:15 pm.–3 a.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 20	First Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Second Round	ESPN2	9 p.m.–3 a.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 21	Second Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m., 9 p.m.–3 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 22	Second Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Third Round	ESPN2	9 p.m.–3 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 23	Third Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m., 9 p.m.–3 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 24	Third Round	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Round of 16	ESPN2	8 p.m.–3 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 25	Round of 16	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Highlights Program	ABC	4 p.m.–5 p.m.
	Round of 16	ESPN2	8 p.m.–3 a.m.
Monday, Jan. 26	Round of 16	ESPN2	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Quarterfinals	ESPN2	9 p.m.–1 a.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 27	Quarterfinals	ESPN	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
	Quarterfinals	ESPN2	9 a.m.–1 a.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 28	Quarterfinals	ESPN	3 a.m.–7 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 29	Women’s Semifinals	ESPN	3:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m.
	Men’s Semifinals	ESPN	10:30 p.m.–1 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 30	Men’s Semifinals	ESPN	3:30 a.m.–6 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31	Women’s Final	ESPN	3:30 a.m.–5:30 a.m.
	Highlights Program	ABC	12 p.m.–1 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 1	Men’s Final	ESPN	3:30 a.m.–6:30 a.m.

Defending champions

Jannik Sinner: The Italian, who was the No. 1 player at the time, captured his third major title at last year’s Australian Open. He was the reigning champion in Melbourne, too. Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in three sets, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3.

Madison Keys: The American captured her first major title at the Australian Open last year, taking down the No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka in three sets, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5. It was an incredible upset for the then 29-year-old.

Most titles

Margaret Court: Australian-born Margaret Court actually holds the title for having the most Australian Open trophies with 11 in her career. Some of her titles were won before the Open Era began, but regardless, she's won an impressive number of majors in her career (24).

Novak Djokovic: The Australian Open is considered Novak Djokovic's best tournament as he's won 10 titles there, with the most recent coming in 2023. Djokovic, like Court, also holds 24 major titles in his career, with the Australian Open being the Grand Slam that he's won most.

Pre-tournament rankings

Men’s players

1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Lorenzo Musetti
6. Alex de Minaur
7. Felix Auger-Aliassime
8. Ben Shelton
9. Taylor Fritz
10. Alexander Bublik

Women’s players

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek
3. Coco Gauff
4. Amanda Anisimova
5. Elena Rybakina
6. Jessica Pegula
7. Jasmine Paolini
8. Mirra Andreeva
9. Madison Keys
10. Belinda Bencic

Bettings odds

Men’s draw

Jannik Sinner has the best odds, according to DraftKings, to three-peat in Melbourne. After him, unsurprisingly, Carlos Alcaraz has the second-best odds to win the tournament. These two young superstars met in the last three major finals, with Alcaraz winning two of the three meetings. Tennis fans everywhere would be thrilled to see another showdown between Sinner and Alcaraz. The Spaniard is also looking to complete his career grand slam as he just needs the Australian Open.

After these two, Novak Djokovic has the third best odds, by a long shot, though. If Djokovic wins the Australian Open, it would be his 11th and record 25th overall major title. It would be a historic moment for the Serbian.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton rank in the top 10 best odds, but they have to get past the powerhouses of Sinner and Alcaraz first.

Top 10 best odds

1. Jannik Sinner (-125)
2. Carlos Alcaraz (+170)
3. Novak Djokovic (+1500)
4. Daniil Medvedev (+3000)
5. Alexander Zverev (+3000)
6. Taylor Fritz (+5000)
7. Felix Auger Aliassime (+6500)
8. Ben Shelton (+6500)
9. Alex de Minaur (+6500)
10. Lorenzo Musetti (+10000)

Women’s draw

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has won two Australian Open titles, and she’s favored to win her third as she enters the major tournament with the best odds, according to DraftKings. Last year’s champion, Madison Keys, is tied with the 10th best odds at +3500 to repeat as a winner in Melbourne.

Two other American women rank in the top 10 best odds, including Coco Gauff (+1000) and Amanda Anisimova (+1000). They both have major titles under their belt, but haven’t won an Australian Open trophy yet.

All eyes will be on Iga Swiatek, too, as she looks to complete her career grand slam in Melbourne. She’s won four French Opens, one Wimbledon and one U.S. Open title already at age 24. She just needs an Australian Open title.

Top 10 best odds

1. Aryna Sabalenka (+185)
2. Iga Swiatek (+500)
3. Elena Rybakina (+800)
4. Coco Gauff (+1000)
5. Amanda Anisimova (+1000)
6. Mirra Andreeva (+1500)
7. Naomi Osaka (+2500)
8. Marta Kostyuk (+2800)
9. Karolina Muchova (+3000)
10. Madison Keys (+3500)

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