By CordCutting.com Team
Sports fans know that cord-cutting isn't quite as easy when you're committed to following your favorite teams, athletes, and competitions. While movie and TV lovers can still get all of their content on-demand through services like Netflix or HBO, there are precious few reliable ways to watch live sports like tennis without having to shell out big bucks to the cable companies.
This struggle is even more real when you're trying to catch the hottest tennis match of the season. It seems like around the world people are streaming tennis with ease, while in the U.S., finding tennis to watch can be a bit more difficult. However, we put together this guide on how to watch tennis to help you find your favorite players and matches, whether you like Nadal, Federer, Serena, Agassi, or anyone in between. Read on to find out how to catch all the major tournaments without a cable subscription.
How to Watch Tennis Without Cable
With the U.S. Open being on the news recently, you likely heard about it either as a regular fan or first-timer. And chances are you're interested in watching some marches. While locating tennis streams can be as difficult as finding the line on a game-winning forehand, the task is not completely impossible. Here are all the ways to find tennis streaming online:
How to Watch the U.S. Open Without Cable
The U.S. Open might be behind us, but that doesn't mean tennis is over, at least not for the diehard fans. This year, we were glad to see familiar faces such as Eugenie Bouchard, Kevin Anderson, Sara Errani, Fabio Fognini, David Goffin, Kristina Mladenovic, among others, and we await in anticipation until next September.
Below is a recap of this past summer's tournament.
| 2023 U.S. Open Tournament Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Date and time (ET) | Match |
| Aug. 22, 11 a.m. | Qualifying matches |
| Aug. 23, 11 a.m. | Qualifying matches |
| Aug. 24, 11 a.m. | Qualifying matches |
| Aug. 25, 11 a.m. | Qualifying matches |
| Aug. 28, 11 a.m. | Men’s and women’s singles first round |
| Aug. 28, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles first round |
| Aug. 29, 11 a.m. | Men’s and women’s singles first round |
| Aug. 29, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles first round |
| Aug. 30, 11 a.m. |
Men’s and women’s singles second round Men’s and women’s doubles first round |
| Aug. 30, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles second round |
| Aug. 31, 11 a.m. | Men’s and women’s singles second round
Men’s and women’s doubles first round |
| Aug. 31, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles second round |
| Sept. 1, 11 a.m. |
Men’s and women’s singles third round Men’s and women’s doubles second round |
| Sept. 1, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles third round |
| Sept. 2, 11 a.m. |
Men’s and women’s singles third round Men’s and women’s doubles second round |
| Sept. 2, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s singles third round |
| Sept. 3, 11 a.m. | Men’s and women’s round of 16
Men’s and women’s doubles third round |
| Sept. 3, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s round of 16 |
| Sept. 4, 11 a.m. |
Men’s and women’s round of 16 Men’s and women’s doubles third round |
| Sept. 4, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s round of 16 |
| Sept. 5, 12 p.m. |
Men’s and women’s quarterfinals Men’s and women’s doubles quarterfinals Quad wheelchair singles first round Men’s and women’s wheelchair singles first round |
| Sept. 5, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s quarterfinals |
| Sept. 6, 11 a.m. |
Women’s doubles quarterfinals Quad wheelchair singles quarterfinals Men’s and women’s wheelchair singles |
| Sept. 6, 12 p.m. | Men’s and women’s quarterfinals |
| Sept. 6, 7 p.m. | Men’s and women’s quarterfinals |
| Sept. 7, 11 a.m. |
Men’s doubles semifinals Men’s and women’s wheelchair doubles semifinals Quad wheelchair doubles semifinals |
| Sept. 7, 7 p.m. | Women’s semifinals |
| Sept. 8, 12 p.m. |
Men’s doubles final (or mixed doubles final) Women’s doubles semifinals Men’s and women’s wheelchair singles semifinals Quad wheelchair singles semifinals |
| Sept. 8, 3 p.m. | Men’s semifinals |
| Sept. 8, 7 p.m. | Men’s semifinals |
| Sept. 9, 12 p.m. |
Mixed doubles final (or men’s doubles final) Men’s and women’s wheelchair doubles final Quad wheelchair doubles final |
| Sept. 9, 4 p.m. | Women’s final |
| Sept. 10, 12 p.m. |
Men’s and women’s wheelchair singles final Quad wheelchair singles final |
| Sept. 10, 1 p.m. | Women’s doubles final |
| Sept. 10, 4 p.m. | Men’s final |
ESPN has the rights to the U.S. Open, so the best way to stream content related to the U.S. Open without cable is with a skinny bundle streaming service that includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, or all of the above. The following streaming services offer ESPN networks as part of their channel list: Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV, fuboTV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.
Tips for Streaming Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments
Want to catch the major tennis tournaments of the year? Check out these tips for watching the grand slams:
Australian Open
You can find the Australian Open on ESPN, ESPN Plus, and the Tennis Channel. Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV are both good bets for ESPN, as is fuboTV and Sling. But if you get Sling, make sure to get the Sling Orange package, as that’s the one that includes ESPN. The Tennis Channel is also available as an add-on on both fuboTV and Sling.
French Open
NBC, Peacock, and the Tennis Channel all air French Open matches. You can watch NBC over-the-air with an antenna, or you can find it on live TV streaming services like Hulu + Live TV. To watch them on Peacock, you’ll need to spring for the paid tier, Peacock Premium.
Wimbledon Championships
ESPN has the rights to Wimbledon matches, so live TV streaming bundles with ESPN and ESPN2 included are your keys to full coverage. You can also find some events on ESPN Plus.
U.S. Open
The ESPN family also has the rights to the U.S. Open, so the story here is similar to Wimbledon: You’ll want ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, or all of the above to catch all the action from the U.S. Open. So you’ll want to get Hulu + Live TV or another skinny bundle that includes livestreams from these two ESPN networks.
Can I Watch Tennis on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast?
If you use a streaming device or streaming platform like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast, then you're in luck! All of the streaming platforms above work with these devices and more, so you can stream tennis without having to buy any new hardware.
More to Watch for Fans of Tennis
If you like tennis, you’ll be glad to know that many networks and channels cover the all the hottest matches of the sport. For example, NBC Sports features great coverage on all the major athletic events, including the most exciting tennis tournaments. Check out our guide on how to watch NBC Sports without cable.
TennisTV isn’t minor tournaments at all, it shows the Masters Series (under the Grand Slams) and the 500s which have all the top ATP players like Federer, Djokovic and Nadal – it has WTA too, Sharapova and Serena. And the live streams are top quality. I have subscribed since it launched and it’s an excellent service for tennis fans.
Thanks for your comment, Steve! I didn’t mean to disparage the ATP and WTA. I was just trying to distinguish between their tournaments and the four majors.
I subscribe to Tennis TV and there’s no coverage of WTA! It’s ATP only and they don’t show doubles.
Very helpful – but an update is sorely needed owing to developments in the last 18 months.
I have Roku, the Tennis Channel only shows ATP, why? I want to view WTA!
I am thoroughly confused. How can this article not highlight Tennis Channel Plus?!?
Apparently Tennis Channel Plus requires a Tennis Channel subscription through your TV provider????
Yeah, interesting. Tennis Channel Plus doesn’t require a TV provider if you want to watch live matches or access any of their on-demand content. Anyone can subscribe directly on the site. If you want to watch the full, live 24/7 broadcast channel then you do need a TV provider. And it turns out that there are some live events that are only on the Broadcast channel. So it looks like subscription-only Tennis Channel Plus is an alternative, with the exception that there will be some live events that are blocked without a TV provider. I guess the reality of how good or bad that model works is in the details. I don’t have Tennis Channel Plus but have always thought I could cut the cord completely and get all my tennis through Plus and you have highlighted that I wouldn’t get absolutely everything in that case.
User-supplied updates: TennisTV.com has some men’s stuff. It doesn’t have WTA. The men’s doubles video is very limited but does have some ATP matches from 2020-2021.
I’m confused, I’ve attempted to sign up for the tennis channel, but I can’t get it with YouTubeTV, but I can’t get it without a cable service?
YouTubeTV dropped the Tennis Channel. So, we (charter subscribers to YouTubeTV) have now dropped YouTubeTV for fuboTV, which has the Tennis Channel. We did not want to switch, but, unfortunately, YouTubeTV sucks a little more with every change/update…
When YoutubeTV stopped carrying the Tennis Channel, we switched to Sling. BUT IT SUCKS. Getting local channels was a chore, and getting ability to record them cost extra $$$$ and an add-on device. We got “TV Anywhere” which Sling said was the premium solution and it is awful. Lookingn here now (Sept. 21) because we’ve hit “the last straw” with this system. If you want a streaming service with good ability to record local broadcast shows as well as the “cable” networks included, don’t use SLING!
Fubo.tv is your solution.
Cable is best. These other services are awful
First of all, Agassi retired like 20 Years ago, so get your facts straight. Also none of this shows how to get Tennis channel free. This was obviously written by some fool that does not even Watch tennis.
Consider adding an Amazon recaster that can receive all local tv and includes a dvr
This is dumb. If I still have to Pay, why wouldn’t I just stick to cable? Useless article.
this is really comically sad and do true-wathing TV used to be easy and fun-and tennis especially- now one needs a PhD in double talk and less than reliable information. talk about double faults!! i have cable and all i had wanted was to watch the australian open on espn-willing to pay mt 9.95 but cable made is so stupidly complex it was ridiculous and i am used to their normal level od ridiculous issues!!!!!!