2018 Australian Open Tennis – ESPN Broadcast Schedule

2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

(For these charts, all times are Eastern, and each day “begins” at 6 a.m. ET.

Therefore, the listing Mon., Jan. 22, at 3 a.m. ET is actually very late on Monday night.)

Coverage Highlights

• ESPN2 will present daily, marathon, prime-time and overnight telecasts from Melbourne (at 7 p.m. the first night, thereafter generally at 9 p.m.) through the women’s semifinals; later action airs on ESPN.
• More than 40 additional hours will be aired on ESPN2 during the afternoon recapping the action from the overnight telecasts, generally at 2 p.m.
• ESPN3 streaming on the ESPN App will offer 1,400 hours starting each day with the first match of each court at 7 p.m. ET (the first 13 days of play).  It will also present live the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles championships and the finals of the boys and girls divisions and of the legends and wheelchair competitions.
• Last year’s dramatic Men’s Championship – Roger Federer edging Rafael Nadal in five sets – will be reaired on ESPN2 leading into the first day of play – Sunday, Jan. 14, from 5-7 p.m.

ESPN Interactive TV will present a six-screen mosaic on DIRECTV featuring the ESPN/Tennis Channel linear feed and five TV courts, during the first seven days of the tournament.  Sam Gore will host, joined on the set by Mardy Fish, Luke Jensen and appearances from the ESPN TV commentator roster.

ESPN Deportes will present extensive, live coverage of the tournament across multiple platforms.  Wall-to-wall Spanish-language coverage will also be available via streaming on ESPN3 and the ESPN App, featuring coverage of all rounds, the quarterfinals and the women’s semifinals.  The men’s semis and both Championships will be televised live on ESPN Deportes. Online, ESPNDeportes.com will also provide up-to-the-minute news and information including results, recaps and chats.

ESPN Classic has been airing memorable Australian Open matches throughout January, concluding with three great matches leading into live coverage of the 2018 tournament:

• 2017 Women’s Final, Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, Sun., Jan. 13, noon – 2 p.m.
• 2017 Men’s Final, Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, Sun., Jan. 13, 2 – 5 p.m.
• 2012 Men’s Semifinal, Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer, Sun., Jan. 13, 10 a.m. – noon

ESPN International will provide more than 140 hours of live HD action to tennis fans via its networks in Latin America (including Brazil) and the Caribbean.  Showcasing the biggest names in tennis, broadcasts will air in three languages, including Spanish in Mexico, Central America & South America; Portuguese in Brazil; and English in the Caribbean.  ESPN+ Brazil will televise over 80 hours of live complementary coverage throughout the early rounds, while ESPN Tres North and ESPN2 South will air over 20 hours of additional Spanish coverage. In addition, ESPN will also televise a two-hour “Best Match of the Day” daily.   In Canada, TSN (English) and RDS (French) will again provide ESPN coverage on television and digital services, while in India, the SONY ESPN platform will carry live coverage.

ESPNtenis.com will feature the following content during the tournament:  A daily webisode called “ESPiaNdo el Australian Open”; an “applet” featuring real-time, point-by-point scoring of all matches; live scores, results and brackets; columns, chats and blogs by TV commentators and other writers; polls; the “Ask ESPN” feature, prompting users to send their comments/questions via the website; video clips with highlights of daily action and analysis; TV scheduling information, and photo galleries.

ESPN Play (Watch ESPN  in Brazil), ESPN’s broadband service in Latin America and the Caribbean will provide wall-to-wall coverage of the year’s first Grand Slam, streaming over 1,400 hours of live tennis coverage from every available televised court, including the men’s & women’s quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Live streaming action will be available throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in English, Spanish and Portuguese language.

ESPN and Tennis

Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air, providing numerous memorable moments from around the world, but it has never been as important as today, with the unprecedented position of presenting three of the sports Major events from start to finish (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open, with exclusivity at the latter two).