Tennis — Where to Watch

Tennis is not one rights package but several, and the split is along different lines from most sports. The four Grand Slams are sold individually by their own organisers. The ATP and WTA tours are sold as season-long packages. Then there is the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup, which belong to the ITF. So a single fortnight at Wimbledon and a single week on the tour can easily be on two different services in the same country.

The good news is that tennis has some of the best free coverage in world sport. Wimbledon is free to air in the UK and contracted to stay that way until 2033.

Country	Who shows it	Free option
UK	Sky Sports carries the tennis tours and the ATP and WTA events. TNT Sports has daily Wimbledon highlights and both finals.	Wimbledon, in full, on BBC iPlayer — every court, secured to 2033. A TV licence is legally required for iPlayer.
US	ESPN and ABC carry Wimbledon and the Australian Open; the US Open is also on ESPN and ABC. The French Open has historically sat with the Tennis Channel. Which service carries which slam is worth checking each year.	None confirmed for live slams.
Australia	Kayo Sports carries the Australian Open and the wider tennis calendar.	9Now carries the Australian Open free with an account.
France	Canal+ holds a large share of French tennis rights; DAZN carries the ATP and WTA tours in several European markets.	Roland Garros on france.tv. French law also requires the singles finals, and the semi-finals when a French player is involved, to be free.
Germany	Sky, through WOW, carries the US Open and the ATP and WTA tours.	None confirmed.
Italy	Sky Italia and NOW carry the ATP and WTA tours, Wimbledon and the US Open. DAZN carries tennis in several markets.	The Internazionali d’Italia semi-finals and finals, and Grand Slam finals involving an Italian player, fall under Italy’s listed-events rules.
Spain	Movistar Plus+ and DAZN split the Spanish tennis calendar between them.	Roland Garros semi-finals and finals involving a Spanish player, under Spanish listed-events rules.
India	JioHotstar holds Wimbledon and the US Open.	Doordarshan, by law, carries Grand Slam singles finals and matches involving Indian players from the quarter-finals onward.
South Africa	SuperSport carries the Grand Slams on its Premium tier.	None confirmed.

Can you watch it free?

Wimbledon, if you are in the UK, and it is not a small exception. The BBC holds the rights to 2033 and shows every court through iPlayer, which makes the most famous tournament in the sport available without a subscription. The one condition is the TV licence, which is legally required for iPlayer and for any live television watched online in the UK.

Elsewhere the pattern is national rather than global. The Australian Open is free on 9Now in Australia. Roland Garros is free on france.tv in France. In Italy and Spain, the listed-events rules guarantee free coverage of the later stages of major tournaments when a home player is involved. In the United States, by contrast, Wimbledon is paywalled — there is no free route to it at all.

Free in one country, paid in another. Wimbledon is the clearest example in any sport. It is free to air in the UK, where the rights holder is a public broadcaster, and behind a subscription in the US, where the rights holder is a commercial network. Neither arrangement is unusual; they are simply different deals.

The cheapest legal route

Wimbledon fortnight, UK. Nothing. BBC iPlayer, with a TV licence.
Australian Open, Australia. Nothing. 9Now, with a free account.
Roland Garros, France. Nothing. france.tv, with the later stages protected by law.
The tours, most of Europe. DAZN carries ATP and WTA events in several markets and runs a permanent free tier; check what your local version carries before subscribing.
The US Open. ESPN and ABC in the United States. In the UK it sits with the pay-television tennis rights holder, where a NOW day pass at £14.99 is the cheapest way in.

The tour packages are the trap. A subscription described as “tennis” usually means one of the tours, or a set of tournaments, and rarely both. Before paying for a year, check whether the tournaments you actually watch are inside it.

Is Wimbledon free?

In the UK, yes — the BBC shows every court on iPlayer, and the deal runs to 2033. A TV licence is required. In the United States Wimbledon is paywalled, most recently on ESPN and ABC.

Where can I watch the Australian Open free?

On 9Now in Australia, free with an account. Outside Australia the Australian Open is a paid product, and the broadcaster differs by country.

Does one subscription cover all four Grand Slams?

Rarely. The four slams are sold separately by their own organisers, so the same country often splits them across two or three different broadcasters.

Is Roland Garros free in France?

Yes, on france.tv. French law also requires the singles finals, and the semi-finals when a French player is involved, to be shown free to air.

Where to go next

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