The sporting year is set to explode to life on Nine’s Wide World of Sports when the superstars of world tennis fire up for the Australian Open, with exclusive coverage of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2023 from Monday, January 16.
Broadcast on Channel 9HD and 9GemHD, the best matches and biggest moments will be available live and free across 276 hours of coverage.
9Now gives fans the ability to watch every point of every match, at any time on the device of their choosing, in full HD with the new start over button allowing fans to watch from the start of each session.
On court, reigning champion Rafael Nadal is back to defend his men’s singles crown, headlining the draw with the much heralded return of Novak Djokovic, who is in red-hot form to win his tenth Australian Open trophy.
With a Grand Slam final now under his belt, Australia’s main hope for glory rests with the mercurial Nick Kyrgios, who will be riding the wave of home support to take down the biggest names in the game.
Amongst them are 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 4), Germany’s Alexander Zverev and American Taylor Fritz, fresh from steering his nation to United Cup victory.
The competition for the women’s singles crown will be led by world No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (No. 2), American duo Jess Pegula (No. 3) and Coco Gauff (No. 7) and Adelaide International winner Aryna Sabalenka (No. 5).
For the Aussie women, Ajla Tomljanovic (No. 33) is looking to build on her quarter-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
Joining Kyrgios to fly the Aussie flag in the men’s draw will be Alex de Minaur (No. 24), who defeated Nadal in the United Cup, Christopher O’Connell (No. 78), Jordan Thompson (No. 84) and Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 93).
Aussie wildcards John Millman, Jason Kubler, Alexei Popyrin and Rinky Hijikata will all get a shot at pulling off underdog victories as they fight for a place in the final week.
In a big win for fans, the box-office men’s double combination of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will reunite to defend their memorable 2022 doubles title.
To cover all the action, Nine’s Wide World of Sports has assembled an ace team of hosts and expert commentators who will take viewers through every game, set and match.
Commentary throughout the tournament will be provided by Jim Courier, Todd Woodbridge, Lleyton Hewitt, Jelena Dokic, Dylan Alcott, Casey Dellacqua, Sam Smith, Alicia Molik, Mark Philippoussis, Darren Cahill and Peter Psaltis.
On Channel 9, the hosts are James Bracey, Roz Kelly and Tony Jones, while on 9Gem Nick McArdle, Emma Lawrence and Seb Costello will host our broadcast.
Additional off-court reporting will come from Alicia Loxley, Matthew Pavlich, Clint Stanaway,Danika Mason and Madeline Slattery.
Also off the court, Andy Lee returns with a new twist for 2023 when Sophie Monk and Mike Goldstein join him for a special Australian Open edition of The Hundred with the biggest names in tennis.
Every morning on 9Now, The Morning Serve will give fans a comprehensive look ahead at the day’s play, as well as dissecting the biggest talking points out of Melbourne Park.
Men’s tournament wildcard player John Millman will provide expert comments throughout the tournament to Nine’s print mastheads, radio division and @wwos social media accounts.
In addition to Channel 9 and 9Now, Stan Sport will have every match ad-free, live and on demand.
Nine’s Director of Sport, Brent Williams, said: “The Australian Open has become an integral piece of our programming schedule and 2023 promises to be no different. The biggest names in the game are here and the storylines evolving are as compelling as always.
“Whether you’re a tennis fanatic, a general sports lover or a casual fan, Nine has all bases covered for viewers to consume the ultimate summer sports festival however they choose.”
