Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys begin their Australian Open title defences from Sunday - and you can follow it across the BBC.
Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys will begin their Australian Open title defences from Sunday in Melbourne - and you can follow it across the BBC.
World number two and reigning Wimbledon champion Sinner is bidding for a third Melbourne title in a row.
Top ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who is looking to complete the career Grand Slam, will be one of the main challengers, alongside last year's finalist Alexander Zverev and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
American Keys capped a fairytale Melbourne run with victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final.
Sabalenka, a two-time Melbourne champion, will be eager to reclaim her title, while world number two Iga Swiatek goes for a career Grand Slam.
Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu lead the British challenge at Melbourne Park.
There will be comprehensive coverage of the tournament across the BBC - here are the key details.
When is the 2026 Australian Open?
The Australian Open takes place from Sunday, 18 January to Sunday, 1 February at Melbourne Park.
The women's singles final will be on 31 January, with the men's on 1 February.
Qualifying - where players have to win all three matches to reach the main draw -took place from 12-15 January.
How to follow on the BBC
There will be live radio commentary from Melbourne Park across BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.
Tennis Breakfast will be on air every morning from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds for discussion and debate, followed by commentary of the night sessions.
There will also be four BBC Radio 5 Live Tennis programmes across the fortnight, which will run between 21:00 and 22:00 GMT on 19, 23, 26 and 30 January.
Live text commentaries can be found on the BBC Sport website and app, along with match reports, features and all the latest news and analysis from the tournament.
You can also catch up on the day's top stories in a daily podcast, which will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport's 'All About' podcast feed.
When is the Australian Open draw?
The draw for the tournament took place on Thursday, 15 January.
Which British players are taking part?
Norrie, Jacob Fearnley, Raducanu, Sonay Kartal and Francesca Jones all reached the main draw as they are ranked inside the world's top 100.
British number four Katie Boulter also received a pass into the main draw after several withdrawals.
However, British number one Jack Draper will not feature at Melbourne Park this year after withdrawing with an arm injury.
Arthur Fery came through qualifying to reach a first overseas Grand Slam main draw, but George Loffhagen was beaten in the final round.
Dan Evans, Jay Clarke, Jack Pinnington Jones, Oliver Crawford, Billy Harris, Jan Choinski and Ryan Peniston all fell in the first round of qualifiers.
Britons Mimi Xu and Harriet Dart lost in the first and second round of qualifying respectively.
What is the prize money this year?
In January, Tennis Australia announced a 16% increase in prize money for the Australian Open.
The total prize pot is A$111.5m (£55m), with the men's and women's singles champions each receiving $4.15m (£2.05m) - a 19% increase on the amount 2025 winners Sinner and Keys took home.
All singles and doubles players competing at the season-opening Grand Slam will get a minimum increase of 10%.
This year's rise in total prize money means the Australian Open is offering more than Wimbledon (£53.5m) and the French Open (£47.5m) did in 2025, although it is still behind the US Open (£67.4m).
The prize money available at each round of the men's and women's singles is as follows:
- Winners: $4.15m
- Runners-up: $2.15m
- Semi-finalists: $1.25m
- Quarter-finalists: $750,000
- Fourth round: $480,000
- Third round: $327,750
- Second round: $225,000
- First round: $150,000
- Qualifying third round: $83,500
- Qualifying second round: $57,000
- Qualifying first round: $40,500
What is the doubles schedules?
The men's and women's doubles begins on Tuesday, 20 January, with the mixed doubles getting under way on Thursday, 22 January.
Australian duo Olivia Gadecki and John Peers are the defending mixed doubles champions, but American Desirae Krawczyk is vying to complete the career Grand Slam.
What time does play start?
Melbourne is 11 hours ahead of the UK.
The day sessions start at 11:00 local time (midnight GMT) on the outer courts and at 12:00 (01:00 GMT) on the show courts.
The night sessions - which are held on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena - begin at 19:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
The women's and men's singles finals start at 19:30 (08:30 GMT).
Schedule
18-20 January: Men's and women's singles first round
21-22 January: Men's and women's singles second round, mixed doubles begins
23-24 January: Men's and women's singles third round
25-25 January: Men's and women's singles fourth round
27-28 January: Men's and women's singles quarter-finals, wheelchair competition begins
29 January: Women's singles semi-finals
30 January: Men's singles semi-finals, wheelchair doubles finals
31 January: Women's final, men's and women's doubles finals, wheelchair singles finals
1 February: Men's final
Category: General Sports
