The opening Grand Slam on the tennis calendar got underway on Sunday with a handful of matches. The 2026 Australian Open runs for the next two weeks. Most of the top players on the men's and women's side are expected to make deep runs.

The 2026 Australian Open begins Sunday, Jan. 18 and the men's and women's singles draws are set up for intriguing potential matchups and storylines.

Get ready for the 2026 Australian Open with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season on TV, who the defending champions are, what the schedule is and more:

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka plays against No. 12 Elina Svitolina in the 2026 Australian Open Semifinals Thursday morning. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 a.m. CT on ESPN/ESPN Deportes. Fans can watch this matchup for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV.

From Home and Away shock returns to new seasons of MAFS, Survivor and Deadloch, here’s every new and returning TV show coming to Australian screens in 2026.

Play in the Australian Open is scheduled to begin 11 a.m. local time Sunday (7 p.m. Saturday EST) on the hard courts of Melbourne Park