Australian Open Tennis 2026: Prize money, schedule, seeds, draw, odds, time difference, how to watch
The world’s best tennis players are preparing to do battle in Melbourne for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
The Australian Open will get underway at Melbourne Park next week and will be the 114th time the competition has been staged.
The prestigious tournament is the first of the four annual tennis majors – along with Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.
Last year saw Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in the final to successfully his men's singles title, while Madison Keys won the women's singles after defeating two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in three sets in a thrilling final.
Both will be returning this year, along with Novak Djokovic who is hoping to win a record 11th title Down Under.
Along with the main men’s and women’s singles competitions, there will be trophies awarded for women’s, men’s and mixed doubles, wheelchair doubles and singles, and boys and girls singles and doubles.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament.
When is the Australian Open?
The Australian Open runs from January 18 to February 1.
The women’s singles final will be played on January 31 at 8.30am BST, while the men’s singles title will be decided from 5am on February 1.
What is the schedule for the singles tournaments?
Here’s when the action will be taking place:
- January 18-20: First Round (Women and Men)
- January 21-22: Second Round (Women and Men)
- January 23-24: Third Round (Women and Men)
- January 25-26: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
- January 27-28: Quarter-finals (Women and Men)
- January 29: Women's semi-finals
- January 30: Men's semi-finals
- January 31: Women's final (8.30am UK time)
- February 1: Men's final (8.30am UK time)
What is the prize money?
As with the other majors, the prize money is identical for the men’s and women’s singles and doubles tournaments. The prize money is broken down as follows:
Singles
- Winner: $4,150,000
- Finalist: $2,150,000
- Semi-finalist: $1,250,000
- Quarter-finalist: $750,000
- Fourth Round: $480,000
- Third Round: $327,750
- Second Round: $225,000
- First Round: $150,000
Doubles (per team)
- Winner: $900,000
- Finalist: $485,000
- Semi-finalist: $275,000
- Quarter-finalist: $158,000
- Third Round: $92,000
- Second Round: $64,000
- First Round: $44,000
Who are the seeded players at the Australian Open 2026?
The men’s seeds are as follows:
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Jannik Sinner
- Alexander Zverev
- Novak Djokovic
- Lorenzo Musetti
- Alex de Minaur
- Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Ben Shelton
- Taylor Fritz
- Alexander Bublik
- Daniil Medvedev
- Casper Ruud
- Andrey Rublev
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- Karen Khachanov
- Jakub Mensik
- Jiri Lehecka
- Francisco Cerundolo
- Tommy Paul
- Flavio Cobolli
- Denis Shapovalov
- Luciano Darderi
- Tallon Griekspoor
- Arthur Rinderknech
- Learner Tien
- Cameron Norrie
- Brandon Nakashima
- Joao Fonseca
- Frances Tiafoe
- Valentin Vacherot
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Corentin Moutet
The women’s seeds are as follows:
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Iga Swiatek (POL)
- Coco Gauff (USA)
- Amanda Anisimova (USA)
- Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
- Jessica Pegula (USA)
- Jasmine Paolini (ITA)
- Mirra Andreeva
- Madison Keys (USA)
- Belinda Bencic (SUI)
- Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Elina Svitolina (UKR)
- Linda Noskova (CZE)
- Clara Tauson (DEN)
- Emma Navarro (USA)
- Naomi Osaka (JPN)
- Victoria Mboko (CAN)
- Liudmila Samsonova
- Karolina Muchova (CZE)
- Marta Kostyuk (UKR)
- Elise Mertens (BEL)
- Leylah Fernandez (CAN)
- Diana Shnaider
- Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
- Paula Badosa (ESP)
- Dayana Yastremska (UKR)
- Sofia Kenin (USA)
- Emma Raducanu (GBR)
- Iva Jovic (USA)
- Maya Joint (AUS)
- Anna Kalinskaya
- Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)
When is the draw for the Australian Open 2026?
The seeds will be joined by wildcards and qualifiers (the qualification tournament is currently being played) in the draw.
The Australian Open singles draw will be made on Thursday, 15 January at 3.30am British time. The doubles draw will be made on Saturday, 17 January at 4am British time.
What is the difference in time between Melbourne and Britain?
Australian Eastern Daylight Time is 11 hours ahead of the UK, so much of the action will take place in the early hours of the morning.
Who are the favourites to win?
Jannik Sinner is the favourite to take the men’s title with odds of 4/5, followed by Carlos Alcaraz (8/5), Novak Djokovic (12/1) and Daniil Medvedev (22/1).
In the women’s tournament Aryna Sabalenka is the player to beat with odds of 15/8, followed by Iga Swiatek (9/2), Elena Rybakina (13/2) and Coco Gauff (8/1).
How do I watch the Australian Open tennis in the UK?
The Australian Open will be available to watch live in the UK on Eurosport, the Eurosport App and discovery+.
The Discovery+ channel with TNT Sport is available from £30.99 per month from their website.
Eurosport is available as an add-on to Sky, BT and Amazon Prime subscribers.
Who are the favourites to win the Australian Open?
Jannik Sinner is the 6/5 favourite for the men’s title, followed by Carlos Alcaraz (7/2), Novak Djokovic (11/2). Alexander Zverev (9/1) and Daniil Medvedev (13/1).
In the women’s tournament the bookes see it as Aryna Sabalenka’s to lose, with short odds of just 12/5, followed by Iga Swiatek (9/2), Coco Gauff (9/2), Elena Rybakina (15/2) and Qinwen Zheng (12/1).
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