In the tennis world, January means it’s time to stock your pantry with midnight snacks, program the coffee maker and give your boss/teacher a heads up that you might be a little red-eyed during morning class/meetings. It’s no secret that the Australian Open is the toughest Grand Slam for Americans to follow, given that Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of the East Coast. However, ESPN and Tennis Channel have tennis fans covered.
ESPN2 and ESPN will feature more than 100 hours of live tennis. For those who don’t like having to rely on ESPN’s programming decisions, the network’s online arm, ESPN3, will carry the action on all seven televised courts — Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Courts 2, 3, 6 and 8 — for the first 11 days of the tournament. ESPN2 will also re-air some of its coverage during normal waking hours in the United States.
Meanwhile, Tennis Channel will supplement ESPN with its own live coverage. It will also run its highlight-and-encore show, Australian Open Today, in the morning daily from Jan. 13 through Jan. 22.
Here’s ESPN’s live programming schedule for the Australian Open. Coverage begins Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network | – |
| Sun, Jan 12 | 7 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Mon, Jan 13 | 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Tue, Jan 14 | 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Wed, Jan 15 | 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Thurs, Jan 16 | 11 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Fri, Jan 17 | 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. | Early Round Action | ESPN2 | Live |
| Sat, Jan 18 | 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 | Live |
| Sun, Jan 19 | 3 a.m – 6 a.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 | Live |
| 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 | Live | |
| Mon, Jan 20 | 3 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. | Round of 16 | ESPN2 | Live |
| 9 p.m – 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | Live | |
| Tue, Jan 21 | 3 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | Live |
| 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | Live | |
| Wed, Jan 22 | 3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. | Quarterfinals | ESPN2 | Live |
| 9:30 p.m – 2 a.m. | Women’s Semifinals | ESPN2 | Live | |
| Thurs, Jan 23 | 3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. | Men’s Semifinal No. 1 | ESPN | Live |
| Fri, Jan 24 | 3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. | Men’s Semifinal No. 2 | ESPN | Live |
| Sat, Jan 25 | 3 a.m. – 5:30 a.m | Women’s Final | ESPN | Live |
| Sun, Jan 26 | 3 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. | Men’s Final | ESPN | Live |
And here’s Tennis Channel’s live programming schedule for the Australian Open. Coverage begins Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network | – |
| Mon, Jan. 13 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | First-round play | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Tues, Jan. 14 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Second-round play | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Weds, Jan. 15 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Second-round play | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Thurs, Jan. 16 | 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Third-round play | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Fri, Jan. 17 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Third-round play | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Sat, Jan. 18 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Round of 16 | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Sun, Jan. 19 | 7 p.m – 9 p.m. | Round of 16 | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Mon, Jan. 20 | 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Round of 16/Quarterfinals | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Tues, Jan. 21 | 3 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. | Quarterfinals | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Weds, Jan. 22 | 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. | Quarterfinals/Men’s doubles semis | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Thurs, Jan. 23 | 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. | Mixed doubles semis/Women’s doubles final | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Sat, Jan. 25 | 5:30 a.m. –7:30 a.m | Men’s doubles final | Tennis Channel | Live |
| Sun, Jan. 26 | 12 a.m. – 2 a.m. | Mixed doubles final | Tennis Channel | Live |