Getty Serena Williams heads into the Australian Open as the favorite on the women's side; Novak Djokovic is favored on the men's.
UPDATE: The third-round match between Roger Federer and Taylor Fritz won’t be on TV in the United States, but it will air exclusively on ESPN+. You can sign up for a free trial of ESPN+ right here, or you can find more information about it below.
The 2019 Australian Open begins on Sunday evening for those watching in the United States.
For those in the US looking to watch, coverage of the year’s first Grand Slam will be on the ESPN networks. Fortunately, that means that even if you don’t have cable, there are still a number of different ways to watch coverage of the entire tournament on your computer, phone or streaming device. Here’s a rundown of your options:
No cable or internet login credentials necessary
For matches that aren’t televised on ESPN or ESPN2, you can watch all of those live on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable subscription required) that has exclusive coverage to dozens of sporting events every week.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of matches on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all matches that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterwards on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
No cable or internet login credentials necessary
Each night, ESPN or ESPN2 will have live coverage of most of the bigger matches (these won’t be on ESPN+). You can watch those specific TV broadcasts via Hulu With Live TV, which, in addition to an extensive on-demand streaming library, also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN News.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Australian Open broadcasts on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
You can also watch the ESPN broadcasts via Sling TV, which includes ESPN and ESPN2 in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle, while ESPNU and ESPN News are in the “Sports Extra” add-on.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of both packages right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Australian Open broadcasts on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
ESPN Platforms
Requires cable or internet login credentials
Additionally, you can watch coverage of the Australian Open on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the ESPN app.
For the simulcasts of the ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts, you’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch on the ESPN platforms. Additionally, most of the matches that are on the ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts will also be available on ESPN3, which you can watch if you’re logged in to a participating Internet Service Provider (ISP). If you don’t have a cable log-in or participating ISP, you can sign up for Hulu or Sling TV and then use those credentials to sign in and watch ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN3 on the ESPN digital platforms.
2019 Australian Open Preview
This will likely be Andy Murray’s last Australian Open — and perhaps the last tournament of his career.
The three-time Grand Slam singles champion announced that he will retire this season due to an ailing right hip that’s plagued him for years. Murray hopes to last until Wimbledon, the third major of the season, but acknowledged he may not make it past Melbourne.
“I spoke to my team and I told them I can’t keep doing this and that I need to have an end point, because I was just playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop,” Murray said in a press conference on Friday, according to ESPN. “I said, look, I think I can kind of get through this until Wimbledon. That is where I would like to stop. I’m also not certain I’m able to do that.
“I can still play to a level, not a level that I’m happy playing at. But it’s not just that. The pain is too much, really. It’s not something I want. I don’t want to continue playing that way. I’ve tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right, and that hasn’t worked.”
Soon after, he received support from his peers. Novak Djokovic wrote a lengthy tribute to Murray on Instagram.
“He will be a big loss for tennis,” Rafael Nadal said, according to the BBC. “… Andy has probably been fighting to keep going for a long time. If he doesn’t feel that the injury can become better, he has probably done the right thing for his mental health.”
Roger Federer said he was “disappointed and sad, a little bit shocked.”
“Of course, it hits us top guys hard because we know Andy very well,” Federer added, according to Sky Sports. “We like him. He doesn’t have many enemies, to be quite honest.
“He’s a good guy, Hall of Famer, legend. He won everything he wanted to win. Anybody would substitute their career with his. He’s a great guy.”
Though Federer won the last two Australian Opens, he said Djokovic is the man to beat this year, per Sky Sports: “No doubt about it, Novak is the favorite. … With his class once he gets his groove back he is hard to beat.”
On the women’s side, Serena Williams is the clear-cut favorite. A victorious Australian Open would tie her with Margaret Court for the most singles majors, with 24.
“It has always been significant since I got 22, then 23,” Williams said ahead of the Australian Open, according to the BBC.
“It’s something that I clearly want but I have to be able to get there and beat a lot of good players to get it.”