How to Watch the US Open 2026

Where to watch US Open 2026 by country

When and where the 2026 US Open is played

The 2026 US Open main draw runs from Sunday, August 30 through Sunday, September 13, 2026 — the season's fourth and final Grand Slam, played on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. The two showpiece finals close the fortnight: the Women's Singles Final is on Saturday, September 12, and the Men's Singles Final is on Sunday, September 13. Before the main draw, the tournament builds momentum with Fan Week, which takes place roughly August 24–29, 2026 and includes qualifying; Arthur Ashe Kids' Day kicks off Fan Week on Sunday, August 23, 2026. One scheduling caveat for planning: the precise day-by-day qualifying competition dates should be confirmed against the official usopen.org schedule page before you build your viewing calendar, because the exact qualifying start and end days can shift. New York runs on Eastern Time, so for fans in the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia the marquee night sessions fall in the small hours of the morning. That time difference matters as much as knowing your broadcaster — it determines whether you watch a session live or on replay. If you are abroad during the tournament, map the New York session times to your own time zone in advance, then set up your broadcaster access ahead of opening day so you are ready rather than scrambling for a feed mid-match.

Watching in the US: ESPN, ESPN+ and ABC

For US viewers, 2026 is the first year of a major change: ESPN now holds exclusive US domestic media rights to the US Open under a new 12-year agreement that begins in 2026 and runs through 2037. The headline for fans is comprehensive coverage — every match from every court is available live across the ESPN family of networks and on ESPN+, the streaming service, which also carries expanded streaming including a new whip-around show that bounces between simultaneous matches. ABC, the over-the-air network, airs select marquee matches, specifically the Middle Sunday and the final Sunday. The important thing to understand is that there is no full free-to-air feed of the whole tournament in the US: while ABC carries those select sessions over the air, watching all the courts and the bulk of the draw requires access to ESPN's networks (through a cable or live-TV package) or an ESPN+ subscription. That is a different model from countries with free-to-air coverage like Australia. If you are a US-based subscriber travelling abroad during the tournament, your ESPN or ESPN+ login will be geo-blocked overseas — a VPN set to a US server restores your normal access. We do not host or link to any unofficial stream; the legitimate way to watch in the US is through ESPN, ESPN+ or ABC, and a VPN simply lets a paying US subscriber reach their own account from outside the country.

The UK and Ireland picture: Sky Sports and NOW

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the US Open is shown exclusively on Sky Sports, under a rights deal covering 2023 through 2027 — so 2026 sits comfortably inside that agreement. Sky's coverage spans multiple courts, letting you follow more than just the show-court matches across the fortnight. For viewers who do not hold a full Sky Sports subscription, the same coverage is available through NOW (Sky's contract-free streaming service), which sells day passes — a practical option if you want to watch the second week and the finals without committing to a long subscription. There is no free-to-air feed of the US Open in the UK or Ireland, so plan on either a Sky Sports subscription or a NOW pass. Because New York is five hours behind UK time, the headline night sessions in Flushing Meadows run into the early hours of the British morning, so check the session times and decide in advance whether you are watching live or catching up. If you are a UK or Irish resident travelling abroad during the tournament and you already hold a Sky Sports or NOW account, that account will be geo-blocked once you leave the country — connecting a VPN to a UK server lets you log in and stream your usual feed as though you were still at home, which is exactly the travel use case a VPN is built for.

Canada and Australia: TSN, RDS and free-to-air Nine

Canada and Australia sit at opposite ends of the free-versus-paid spectrum. In Canada, Bell Media's TSN and French-language RDS carry the US Open under a long-term multi-year rights deal, delivering 130+ hours of live coverage including exclusive Canadian coverage of the finals; RDS provides the French-language feed for Québec and francophone viewers. There is no free-to-air option in Canada, so you will need access to TSN or RDS (through a TV package or their streaming apps). Australia is the standout for free access: Nine has been the exclusive Australian US Open broadcaster since 2022, the year it completed its sweep of all four Grand Slams. Coverage is free-to-air on Channel Nine and its sister channels 9Gem and 9Go, plus free streaming on 9Now, with extended and additional coverage available on the subscription service Stan Sport. The catch for Australian viewers is the clock: because New York is well behind Australian time, US Open matches air late at night and in the early morning AU time, so night sessions in New York become pre-dawn viewing in Sydney or Melbourne. If you are a Canadian or Australian abroad during the tournament, your home apps — TSN, RDS, 9Now or Stan Sport — will geo-block you, and a VPN set to your home country restores them so long as you hold the relevant subscription (or, in Australia's case, the feed is free at home anyway).

Europe and the rest of the world: Eurosport, discovery+ and free Nordic feeds

Across Europe, the US Open is largely a Warner Bros. Discovery property: the company holds rights in 45 markets, with exclusivity in 40 countries, and offers 234+ live hours of coverage. The branding you will see is Eurosport and discovery+, though in some markets the streaming platform may be branded HBO Max depending on the rebrand timing — so verify the exact platform name for your country before subscribing, as it varies market to market. Most of this European coverage is paid, behind a Eurosport or discovery+ subscription. There are, however, a handful of free-to-air windows in the Nordics worth knowing about: select coverage is free in Norway on Max, in Denmark on 6-eren, in Sweden on K9, and in Finland on TV5. For India, Sony (the Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV) has historically held US Open rights and currently holds the 2026 Australian Open, but a confirmed 2026 US Open rights deal for India was not verified at the time of writing — treat the India broadcaster as to be confirmed and check the official source closer to the tournament. Wherever you are, the safest move is to confirm your country's official listing close to the start of the event, because platforms, branding and free windows can change. If a free or subscribed feed exists in your home country, a VPN lets you reach it from abroad.

Why you need a VPN: geo-blocking explained

Broadcasters buy US Open rights country by country, so every streaming service is geo-blocked: the app checks your IP address, sees which country you are connecting from, and only serves the live stream if you are inside the licensed territory. The moment you cross a border, your home broadcaster's app detects the foreign IP and either hides the live feed, swaps in different content, or shows a not-available error — even when you hold a valid subscription or the feed is free at home. This is why a US ESPN+ subscriber on holiday in Europe cannot just open the app, why a UK Sky Sports customer abroad hits a regional block, and why an Australian travelling overseas cannot reach 9Now. A VPN (virtual private network) solves this by routing your connection through a server in your home country and replacing your visible IP address with one from that country. To the broadcaster, you appear to be back home, so the stream unblocks normally. Importantly, a VPN does not grant you rights you do not have — you still need a valid subscription in the country you connect to, or the free feed must genuinely exist there. It restores the access you already have. Note that accessing a broadcaster outside its licensed territory can breach that service's terms, so the intended, sensible use is reaching your own home broadcaster and your own subscription. As a bonus, a VPN encrypts your traffic, protecting your broadcaster login on hotel and airport Wi-Fi while you travel during the fortnight.

How to watch the US Open from abroad with a VPN: step by step

Restoring your home feed takes only a few minutes. 1) Choose and install a reputable VPN with reliable servers in your home country — ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark and CyberGhost are all strong options, and every pick carries a 30-day money-back guarantee (CyberGhost offers 45 days), so you can test it during the tournament risk-free. 2) Create your account, download the app for your device, and sign in. 3) Connect to a server in your home country: a US server for ESPN+ or ABC, a UK server for Sky Sports or NOW, a Canadian server for TSN or RDS, an Australian server for 9Now or Stan Sport, or the relevant European country for Eurosport/discovery+. 4) Wait for the connection to confirm, then open your broadcaster's website or app and log in as you normally would. 5) Start the live stream — it should now play as if you were at home. If it does not, disconnect, clear the broadcaster app's cache or your browser cookies, reconnect to a different server in the same country, and reload. A practical tip: always connect the VPN before opening the streaming app, never after, so the app never records your real foreign location. Because every recommended VPN has a money-back guarantee, you can confirm it unblocks your specific broadcaster before committing — sign up, test it on the first day of the main draw, and keep it only if it reliably reaches your feed. Set everything up before August 30 so you are ready for live coverage from round one.

Best VPNs for live HD tennis

For live tennis the priorities are sustained speed (so the picture holds up in HD through long baseline rallies without buffering), reliable server presence in the right countries, and a money-back guarantee so you can verify it works with your broadcaster before committing. ExpressVPN is the premium pick built for speed — its Lightway protocol is designed for low overhead, which helps keep live feeds stable in full HD, and it maintains servers across the key US Open markets. NordVPN holds the largest US market share, runs on its fast NordLynx protocol, and bundles threat protection, making it a dependable all-rounder for ESPN+, Sky Sports and the rest. Surfshark is the value standout because it allows unlimited simultaneous devices on one account, so a household can watch one match on the TV while someone else follows another on a phone, all on a single subscription. CyberGhost is streaming-optimised with location-labelled servers and the longest trial window — a 45-day money-back guarantee versus the standard 30 days elsewhere — which comfortably covers the entire two-week tournament plus setup time. Other solid options in the same lineup include IPVanish and Private Internet Access (PIA), both with large server networks; Proton VPN, the privacy-first Swiss provider that is the only one of our picks with a genuine free tier (though its free servers are not ideal for live HD sport); and budget pick TotalVPN. We earn a commission if you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you, and current discount ranges appear live in our comparison table rather than as fixed prices here. Whichever you choose, test it against your actual broadcaster early — the money-back guarantee exists precisely so you can.

Device setup: phone, laptop, smart TV and Fire Stick

Most VPNs run on every device you would use to watch the US Open, but the setup differs slightly by platform. On a phone or tablet (iOS or Android), install the VPN app from the App Store or Google Play, sign in, connect to your home-country server, then open your broadcaster app — this is the simplest route and works well for following matches on the move or in bed during New York's late sessions. On a laptop, install the desktop app or a browser extension, connect, and watch on the broadcaster's website; laptops are the most flexible for switching between courts. Smart TVs are trickier: Android TV and Google TV models can install the VPN app directly, but many Samsung and LG sets cannot, so the common workaround is to set the VPN up on your home Wi-Fi router so every device on the network — including the TV — appears in your home country automatically. An Amazon Fire TV Stick is one of the easiest big-screen options because the major VPNs publish dedicated Fire TV apps: install the VPN from the Amazon Appstore, connect to your home server, then open your broadcaster app (ESPN, Sky Go, 9Now, TSN and so on) on the same Stick. If your TV cannot run a VPN and you do not want to configure a router, casting from a connected phone or laptop, or using a Fire Stick, are the most reliable big-screen paths for watching the US Open in HD. Set up and test your chosen device before the first match so there are no surprises on opening day.

Troubleshooting: stream not loading or proxy errors

If a broadcaster shows a proxy or VPN-detected error, or the stream simply will not load, work through these fixes in order. 1) Switch servers: broadcasters block individual VPN IP addresses, so disconnect and reconnect to a different server in the same country — a fresh IP often clears the block instantly. 2) Clear cookies and cache: streaming sites store location data, so clear your browser cookies or the app's cache, or open the stream in a private/incognito window, then reconnect. 3) Connect the VPN first: always connect to the VPN before opening the broadcaster app, never after, so the app never records your real location. 4) Check for location leaks: enable the VPN's leak protection and make sure device-level location services or GPS are not overriding your VPN IP, which is a common cause of blocks on mobile. 5) Fix buffering: for drops in quality during a rally, connect to a server geographically closer to where your account is based, switch to a faster protocol (Lightway on ExpressVPN, NordLynx on NordVPN), or move closer to your router or use Ethernet. 6) Try a different protocol and update both apps: switching between WireGuard-based and OpenVPN protocols sometimes restores access on stubborn networks, and an out-of-date VPN or broadcaster app can fail silently. If you have tried several servers and the broadcaster still blocks you, contact your VPN's live chat support; the reputable providers staff it around the clock and maintain dedicated streaming-server lists they can point you to. Because every recommended VPN offers a money-back guarantee (45 days for CyberGhost), you have a safety net if a particular service simply cannot reach your broadcaster — and the single most common fix is just hopping to a different server in the same country, so try that first.

Schedule and marquee context to plan around

With a two-week main draw from August 30 to September 13, the US Open builds steadily toward a packed second week, so it is worth marking the sessions you most want to see in your own time zone. The tournament opens after Fan Week (roughly August 24–29, including qualifying), with Arthur Ashe Kids' Day kicking things off on August 23. The first week works through the early rounds across the complex — from the 23,000-plus seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis-specific arena in the world, down to the outer courts where qualifiers and rising names can be found. ESPN+ in the US adds a whip-around show that is handy in this phase, when many matches run at once. The second week concentrates the drama: the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and then the finals weekend — the Women's Singles Final on Saturday, September 12 and the Men's Singles Final on Sunday, September 13. Because the singles draws and seedings are not set until close to the event, this guide does not name specific matchups or favourites in advance — those will be confirmed when the draw is made, so check the official US Open site for the bracket and order of play. What you can plan now is the framework: confirm your broadcaster, map the New York session times to your own clock, and set up your VPN and broadcaster login before August 30 so you are ready for live coverage from the first round rather than scrambling once play begins.

US Open 2026 — FAQ