The Australian Open is traditionally the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. It starts in mid-January. In the 2025 season, Alexander Zverev played his way to the final, but lost to Jannik Sinner. Can the German perform well again after a messed up year in Melbourne? Here you can read what you need to know about the tournament.
The Australian Open starts a little later this year. The qualifying matches will take place from January 12th to 17th, 2026. The games in the main fields for women and men start on January 18th. The women’s final is scheduled for January 31st, the men’s final will take place on February 1st.
The game is played in Melbourne Park, which is located three kilometers east of downtown Melbourne. The site includes 24 hard courts. The largest stadium is the Rod Laver Arena with 14,820 seats. It has a roof structure that can be closed within 25 minutes, so that you can play there even in extreme heat or rain.
You can watch the Australian Open live on free TV on Eurosport, but only selected games. The broadcaster has the rights to the Grand Slam until 2031. To be able to follow all matches, including re-live, you need a subscription to Discovery+. Via Dazn you have the opportunity to stream Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 live and thus see at least two games at the same time. Amazon Prime also has the option to book the Eurosport Player as a package.
When can the matches in Australia be seen in Germany?
Due to the time difference of around ten hours, the games in Germany will mainly be seen at night. The games start in Australia at 11 a.m. local time, i.e. at 1 a.m. in Germany. The top matches of the night sessions take place at the best German breakfast time.
At the Grand Slam level, it has been common practice for years for men and women to receive the same amount of prize money. The winners of the individual fields will receive 3.5 million Australian dollars. This corresponds to around 2.1 million euros. This means that the Grand Slam in Melbourne remains one of the most valuable tennis tournaments in the world.
The entry list has been published and reveals that a total of seven German tennis professionals are in the main draw of the Australian Open. Four more have to take the detour through qualification.
The squad is led by world number three Alexander Zverev. Behind them are only two other German men, Daniel Altmaier (46th in the world rankings) and Jan-Lennard Struff (84th), who are directly qualified for the main field. Yannick Hanfmann and Justin Engel first have to fight their way through qualification.
Eva Lys (40th) returns as the best German woman to the place where her steep rise began in 2025 with her participation in the round of 16 as a lucky loser. Behind her are Tatjana Maria (45th) and Laura Siegemund (46th). It is pleasing that DTB talent Ella Seidel (84th) is directly in the main field of the Grand Slam after a strong season. Tamara Korpatsch and Anna-Lena Friedsam first have to qualify.
The German participants at a glance
The draw will take place on Thursday, January 15, 2026, before the start of the main draws. From the start of the tournament you will find the schedules of the German tennis professionals and the results of the matches with German participation here.
