2024 Australian Open
The year's first major commences on MLK Day weekend stateside, with the time difference meaning that play starts Saturday evening in primetime when many of us are watching football. The tournament has expanded to 15 days, running from Sunday to Sunday, for the first time.
This is ESPN’s 40th annual presentation of this Australian Open, representing its longest uninterrupted professional sports programming relationship. ESPN has held the rights to the event since 1984 but called the last three editions remotely from Connecticut with only token personnel (usually their commentators who are also coaches) on site. 2024 marks their return to Melbourne.
Schedule
Live "first ball to last ball" coverage across all 16 courts is available on ESPN+, Past years usually had a few courts per day on ESPN3, but that changed last year. That coverage is usually blocked as 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
All times are U.S. EST (i.e., New York time), which is 16 hours behind Melbourne time.
| Day | U.S. evening | Melbourne date | Singles round | ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN Deportes | Encore presentations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday | Sunday, Jan. 14 | First | 12-7 a.m. | 12-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 8-11 a.m. | |
| 2 | Sunday | Monday, Jan. 15 | First | 7-11 p.m. | 11 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
7 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. |
| 3 | Monday | Tuesday, Jan. 16 | First | 11:30 p.m.-7 a.m. | 11:30 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 4 | Tuesday | Wednesday, Jan. 17 | Second | 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
7 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 5 | Wednesday | Thursday, Jan. 18 | Second | 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
11 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | |
| 6 | Thursday | Friday, Jan. 19 | Third | 9 p.m.-2 a.m. | 3-7 a.m. | 7 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. |
| 7 | Friday | Saturday, Jan. 20 | Third | 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
12:30-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 7-10 a.m.
ABC, 1-2 p.m. | |
| 8 | Saturday | Sunday, Jan. 21 | Round of 16 | 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
10 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 7-9 a.m. | |
| 9 | Sunday | Monday, Jan. 22 | Round of 16 | 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
7 p.m.-7:30 a.m. | ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 10 | Monday | Tuesday, Jan. 23 | Quarterfinals | 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
3-7 a.m. |
8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
3-8:30 a.m. |
ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 11 | Tuesday | Wednesday, Jan. 24 | Quarterfinals | 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
3:30-7:30 a.m. |
8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
3:30-9 a.m. |
ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 12 | Wednesday | Thursday, Jan. 25 | Women's semifinals | 3:30-7:30 a.m. | 3:25-7 a.m. | ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 13 | Thursday | Friday, Jan. 26 | Men's semifinals | 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
3:30-6 a.m. |
10:25 p.m.-2 a.m.
3:25-7 a.m. |
ESPN2, 12-3 p.m. | |
| 14 | Friday | Saturday, Jan. 27 | Women's final | 3:30-5:30 a.m. | 3-6 a.m. | ESPN2, 8-11 a.m. | |
| 15 | Saturday | Sunday, Jan. 28 | Men's final | 3:30-6:30 a.m. | 3-7:30 a.m.
Encore, 8-10 p.m. |
ESPN2, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
ABC, 4-5 p.m. ESPN2, 8-11:30 p.m. |
Commentators
Dates in parentheses indicate the year each person joined ESPN's tennis contingent. These are generally taken from the ESPN press release, except for Goodall and Stubbs which do not have dates listed.
Host: Chris McKendry (2016)
Play-by-play: Chris Fowler (lead; 2003), Jason Goodall (2015), Patrick McEnroe (1995), Pam Shriver (1990). (McKendry, Darren Cahill and Mary Joe Fernandez have also appeared in this capacity before.
Analysts: John McEnroe (men's lead, 2009); James Blake (2020), Darren Cahill (2007), Mary Joe Fernandez (2000), Brad Gilbert (2004), Rennae Stubbs (2010) with some appearances by Goodall, Patrick McEnroe and Shriver.
There is no mention in the ESPN press release of Cliff Drysdale, Alexandra Stevenson, Sam Gore or Luke Jensen, all of whom have appeared previously. Caroline Wozniacki has returned to playing and Chrissie Evert is fighting a recurrence of ovarian cancer, so their absences are a little more expected.
Conventions
The color-coded schedule graphics below are based on an average set length of 40 minutes; a best-of-three match is blocked at an hour and 40 minutes while a best-of-five match is 2:45, based on the likelihood of multiple sets if each set is a coin flip. Suspended matches are prorated based on the score when they are stopped.
Each match's position on the draw is indicated by a number in double square brackets. Each pair of matches with the same number meets in the next round; these numbers start with 1 at the top of the draw and proceed down the list. For example, there are 32 second-round matches, so the last pair of first-round matches is marked with 32.
In the text listing of commentators, each match is numbered sequentially when it first appears. Brief updates on other matches are indented. Angle brackets indicate split-screen coverage.
If there is only a textual listing of the show-court schedule, this means I haven't made the graphic yet and it's coming. :)
Day 1 - Saturday night into Sunday, Jan. 14
On Court: 32 matches, 79.8 hours
- 16 men's singles first-round matches (7 seeds, 3 Americans)
- 16 women's singles first-round matches (9 seeds, 4 Americans)
Forecast: Partly cloudy. Winds southerly 25 to 35 km/h turning east to southeasterly in the late evening. Maximum temperature 23C, 71F, 296K.
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 12-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 12:04-8:44 a.m.
Day 2 - Sunday night into Monday, Jan. 15
On Court: 56 matches, 140.25 hours
- 28 men's singles first-round matches (15 seeds, 5 Americans)
- 28 women's singles first-round matches (14 seeds, 7 Americans)
Forecast: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the northeast suburbs, slight chance elsewhere. The chance of a thunderstorm in the north in the afternoon and evening. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h in the early afternoon. Maximum temperature 28C, 82F, 301K.
TV Schedule: ESPN, 7-11 p.m.; ESPN2, 11 p.m.-2 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.; replay on ESPN2 from 12-3 p.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 6:55-11:04 p.m.; ESPN2, 11 p.m.-9:44 a.m.
Day 3 - Monday night into Tuesday, Jan. 16
On Court: 56 matches, 131.6 hours
- 20 men's singles first-round matches (10 seeds, 4 Americans)
- 20 women's singles first-round matches (10 seeds, 8 Americans)
- 8 men's doubles first-round matches
- 8 women's doubles first-round matches
Forecast: Sunny morning. Slight chance of a shower, most likely in the late afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening. Winds northerly 25 to 40 km/h decreasing to 20 to 30 km/h in the middle of the day. Maximum temperature 30C, 86F, 303K.
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 11:22 p.m.-8 a.m.
Day 4 - Tuesday night into Wednesday, Jan. 17
On Court: 56 matches, 127.25 hours
- 16 men's singles second-round matches (15 seeds, 6 Americans)
- 16 women's singles second-round matches (10 seeds, 4 Americans)
- 12 men's doubles first-round matches
- 12 women's doubles first-round matches
Forecast: Cloudy. High chance of rain, becoming less likely in the afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm in the morning and afternoon, with possible heavy falls in the northeast suburbs. Winds northwest to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h tending south to southwesterly in the middle of the day then tending west to southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h in the late evening. Maximum temperature 23C, 71F, 296K.
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 7 p.m.-2 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 7:09 p.m.-8:05 a.m.
Day 5 - Wednesday night into Thursday, Jan. 18
On Court: 66 matches, 145.6 hours
- 16 men's singles second-round matches (15 seeds, 2 Americans)
- 16 women's singles second-round matches (10 seeds, 5 Americans)
- 16 men's doubles first-round matches, including 4 held over
- 15 women's doubles first-round matches, including 3 held over
- 3 mixed-doubles first-round matches
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 9 p.m.-2 a.m and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 8:57 p.m.-11:48 a.m.
Day 6 - Thursday night into Friday, Jan. 19
On Court: 46 matches, 94.75 hours
- 8 men's singles third-round matches (12 seeds, 3 Americans)
- 8 women's singles third-round matches (5 seeds, 3 Americans)
- 5 men's doubles first-round matches, all held over
- 7 men's doubles second-round matches
- 3 women's doubles first-round matches, all held over
- 7 women's doubles second-round matches
- 8 mixed doubles first-round matches (including 2 held over; 1 holdover not scheduled)
TV Schedule: ESPN, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; ESPN2, 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 9:13 p.m.-2 a.m.; ESPN2, 3-8:44 a.m.
Day 7 - Friday night into Saturday, Jan. 20
On Court: 67 matches, 94.75 hours
- 8 men's singles third-round matches (11 seeds, 2 Americans)
- 8 women's singles third-round matches (7 seeds, 2 Americans)
- 9 men's doubles second-round matches
- 8 women's doubles second-round matches
- 6 mixed doubles first-round matches
- 14 boys singles first-round matches
- 14 girls singles first-round matches
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 9:10 p.m.-8:04 a.m.
Day 8 - Saturday night into Sunday, Jan. 21
On Court: 74 matches, 138.6 hours
- 4 men's singles fourth-round matches (8 seeds, 1 Americans)
- 4 women's singles fourth-round matches (3 seeds, 2 Americans)
- 4 men's doubles third-round matches
- 4 women's doubles third-round matches
- 2 mixed doubles first-round matches
- 3 mixed doubles second-round matches
- 18 boys singles first-round matches
- 18 girls singles first-round matches
- 8 boys doubles first-round matches
- 7 girls doubles second-round matches
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: 8:10 p.m.-7:43 a.m.
Day 9 - Sunday night into Monday, Jan. 22
On Court: 59 matches, 106.6 hours
- 4 men's singles fourth-round matches (5 seeds, 0 Americans)
- 4 women's singles fourth-round matches (4 seeds, 0 Americans)
- 4 men's doubles third-round matches
- 4 women's doubles third-round matches
- 6 mixed doubles second-round matches (1 held over)
- 8 boys singles second-round matches
- 8 girls singles second-round matches
- 10 boys doubles first-round matches (2 held over)
- 9 girls doubles first-round matches
TV Schedule: ESPN, 7-9:30 p.m.; ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 7-9:45 p.m.; ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.-7:01 a.m.
Day 10 - Monday night into Tuesday, Jan. 23
On Court: 69 matches, 127.0 hours
- 2 men's singles quarterfinal matches (4 seeds, 1 American)
- 2 women's singles quarterfinal matches (3 seeds, 1 American)
- 1 men's doubles quarterfinal match
- 2 women's doubles quarterfinal matches
- 4 mixed doubles quarterfinal matches
- 8 boys singles second-round matches
- 8 girls singles second-round matches
- 8 boys doubles second-round matches
- 8 girls doubles second-round matches
- 8 men's wheelchair singles first-round matches
- 8 women's wheelchair singles first-round matches
- 8 quad wheelchair singles first-round matches
TV Schedule: ESPN2, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. and 3-7 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN2, 9:21 p.m.-9:32 a.m.
Day 11 - Tuesday night into Wednesday, Jan. 24
On Court: 58 matches, 102.9 hours
- 2 men's singles quarterfinal matches (4 seeds, 0 Americans)
- 2 women's singles quarterfinal matches (1 seed, 0 Americans)
- 3 men's doubles quarterfinal matches
- 2 women's doubles quarterfinal matches
- 2 mixed doubles semifinal matches
- 8 boys singles third-round matches
- 8 girls singles third-round matches
- 4 boys doubles quarterfinal matches
- 4 girls doubles quarterfinal matches
- 4 men's wheelchair singles quarterfinal matches
- 4 women's wheelchair singles quarterfinal matches
- 4 quad wheelchair singles quarterfinal matches
- 4 men's wheelchair doubles quarterfinal matches
- 4 women's wheelchair doubles quarterfinal matches
- 4 quad wheelchair doubles quarterfinal matches
TV Schedule: ESPN, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; ESPN2, 3:30-7:30 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 9:11 p.m.-2:07 a.m.; ESPN2, 3:28-9:32 a.m.
Day 12 - Wednesday night into Thursday, Jan. 25
On Court: 32 matches, 56.7 hours
- 2 women's singles semifinal matches (3 seeds, 1 American)
- 2 men's doubles semifinal matches
- 1 women's doubles semifinal match
- 4 boys singles quarterfinal matches
- 4 girls singles quarterfinal matches
- 4 boys doubles semifinal matches
- 4 girls doubles semifinal matches
- 2 men's wheelchair singles semifinal matches
- 2 women's wheelchair singles semifinal matches
- 2 quad wheelchair singles semifinal matches
- 2 men's wheelchair doubles semifinal matches
- 2 women's wheelchair doubles semifinal matches
- 2 quad wheelchair doubles semifinal matches
Forecast: Cloudy morning, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Medium chance of showers, high chance in the outer northern suburbs and nearby hills. The chance of a thunderstorm about the nearby hills. Light winds becoming southeast to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the late afternoon then becoming light in the late evening. Maximum temperature 26C, 79F, 299K.
TV Schedule: ESPN, 3:30-7:30 a.m.
Day 13 - Thursday night into Friday, Jan. 26
On Court: 24 matches (prorated to 23.68), 40.7 hours
- 2 men's singles semifinal matches (4 seeds, 0 Americans)
- 1 women's doubles semifinal match
- Mixed doubles final match
- 2 girls singles quarterfinal matches (held over, prorated to 1.75)
- 2 boys doubles semifinal matches (held over)
- Boys doubles final match
- 2 girls doubles semifinal matches (held over)
- Girls doubles final match
- 2 men's wheelchair doubles semifinal matches (held over)
- 2 women's wheelchair doubles semifinal matches (held over, prorated to 1.93)
- 1 quad wheelchair doubles semifinal matches (held over)
- Men's wheelchair doubles final match
- Women's wheelchair doubles final match
- Quad wheelchair doubles final match
TV Schedule: ESPN, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. and 3:30-6 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 10:01 p.m.-2:20 a.m. and 3:30-8:15 a.m.
Day 14 - Friday night into Saturday, Jan. 27
On Court: 7 matches, 13.7 hours
- Women's singles final match (2 seeds, 0 Americans)
- Men's doubles final match
- Boys singles final match
- Girls singles final match
- Men's wheelchair singles final match
- Women's wheelchair singles final match
- Quad wheelchair singles final match
TV Schedule: ESPN, 3:30-5:30 a.m.
Day 15 - Saturday night into Sunday, Jan. 28
On Court: 2 matches, 6.4 hours
- Men's singles final match (2 seeds, 0 Americans)
- Women's doubles final match
TV Schedule: ESPN, 3:30-6:30 a.m.
Actual Live Coverage: ESPN, 3:30-7:35 a.m.
