The Australian Open kicks off the 2026 tennis Grand Slam season with Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys returning as defending champions.
Sinner will attempt to become just the second men’s player in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles after Novak Djokovic, while women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be determined to regain the crown after Keys scored a hat-trick in last year’s final.
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The two players will compete with the mission of completing the professional Grand Slam. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are one Australian Open title away from winning all four Grand Slams – and if Alcaraz does it this year, he will become the youngest person to achieve the feat.
After reaching the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open finals last season, Melbourne is one of the only major stages where Alcaraz and Sinner have yet to meet.
Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were the last men to reach four consecutive Grand Slam finals, between 2011 Wimbledon and 2012 Roland Garros.
Here’s everything you need to know:
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Is the Australian Open on TV?
The game will be broadcast live online on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the UK.
In the United States, ESPN and Tennis Channel will broadcast live.
Australian Open schedule
The second round of the competition will begin on Wednesday, January 21st. Finals weekend is Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1st February. This is the latest order of play.
How much is the prize money at the Australian Open?
The prize money for this year’s Australian Open increased by 16% to 55.4 million pounds, making it the largest prize money in the history of the event.
The two singles champions will each receive £2.1 million, up from the £1.7 million received by Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys last year.
