Australian Open 2026: How to watch, TV and streaming, draw, schedule, prize money, who's playing?

For the 114th time in its long and illustrious history, the Australian Open will soon take centre stage once again, as modern-day tennis greats descend on Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the season.

Seasoned professionals and budding hopefuls are currently being put through their paces in ATP and WTA tournaments across Australia in preparation for the opening major, in which Jannik Sinner seeks a third-straight men's singles title.

Meanwhile, the USA's Madison Keys arrives down under clutching her women's singles trophy from the 2025 event, although a fellow American will likely steal the AO headlines for the last time.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up everything you need to know about this year's Australian Open.

When and where is the 2026 Australian Open?

Qualifying for the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open has already begun, but the proper tournament will begin on January 18 and conclude on February 1.

The first Grand Slam of the year is once again taking place at Melbourne Park, which boasts the 15,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena, where the singles finals will be held.

2026 Australian Open singles schedule

Sunday, January 18

Men's singles first round | Women's singles first round

Monday, January 19

Men's singles first round | Women's singles first round

Tuesday, January 20

Men's singles first round | Women's singles first round

Wednesday, January 21

Men's singles second round | Women's singles second round

Thursday, January 22

Men's singles second round | Women's singles second round

Friday, January 23

Men's singles third round | Women's singles third round

Saturday, January 24

Men's singles third round | Women's singles third round

Sunday, January 25

Men's singles fourth round | Women's singles fourth round

Monday, January 26

Men's singles fourth round | Women's singles fourth round

Tuesday, January 27

Men's singles quarter-finals | Women's singles quarter-finals

Wednesday, January 28

Men's singles quarter-finals | Women's singles quarter-finals

Thursday, January 29

Women's singles semi-finals

Friday, January 30

Men's singles semi-finals

Saturday, January 31

Women's singles final

Sunday, February 1

Men's singles final

When is the 2026 Australian Open draw? Can I watch the draw?

The 2026 Australian Open draw takes place on Thursday, January 15 - the same day that qualifying concludes - at 2.30pm local time, or 3.30am UK time.

The draw will be live-streamed on the official Australian Open website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

How can I watch the 2026 Australian Open?

Fans in the UK can watch the Australian Open on TNT Sports, or its respective streaming service, discovery+, where a sports subscription costs £30.99 per month.

A full list of international broadcasters for the tournament can be found here.

2026 Australian Open prize money

Once again, a record prize pot is on offer at the 2026 Australian Open, and the total for this season is a staggering A$111.5m (£55.3m)

2026 Australian Open prize money breakdown

Exchange rates correct as of January 13

Singles champion: A$4.15m (£2.07m)
Finalist: A$2.15m (£1.07m)
Semi-finalist: A$1.25m (£620,000)
Quarter-finalist: A$750,000 (£373,200)
Fourth round: A$480,000 (£238,848)
Third round: A$327,750 (£163,088)
Second round: A$225,000 (£111,960)
First round: A$150,000 (£75,000)
Qualifying third round: A$83,500 (£41,549)
Qualifying second round: A$57,000 (£28,363)
Qualifying first round: A$40,500 (£20,152)

Who is playing at the 2026 Australian Open?

A few high-profile players will not be competing Down Under due to injury or inactivity - Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Zheng Qinwen and Ons Jabeur among them - but the rest of the big-hitters on the men's and women's tours will battle for a slice of Grand Slam glory.

Fans may already be anticipating another main event between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who are seeded second and first respectively and could therefore be on a collision course to meet in the final; the top two seeds are kept apart in the draw.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic chased Grand Slam number 25 in vain last year, but the Serbian is seeded fourth for his 81st main-draw major appearance, which will see him equal Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez's Open Era record.

Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka - the 2014 champion - will contest his final Australian Open at the age of 40, while Cameron Norrie has earned a coveted seeded spot as the current world number 28 and is one of just two Brits guaranteed to appear in the men's singles main draw alongside Jacob Fearnley.

On the women's side, world number one Aryna Sabalenka is on a revenge mission after losing last year's final to Keys; the defending champion comes into the tournament as the eighth seed.

Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula will all harbour realistic aspirations of Melbourne stardom too, while Emma Raducanu's 2025 graft earned her a seeded place as the highest-ranked British woman.

Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones and Katie Boulter - who was originally due to compete in the qualifiers before a spate of withdrawals - will join Raducanu, as will the legendary Venus Williams, who at 45 years of age will become the oldest woman to play in the AO main draw.