How to watch the Australian Open 2019 online
Chris
Chris, a UK-born media connoisseur, is an expert in watching international TV. Known as "The Global Screen Wanderer", he has travelled extensively across the globe with long stints away from home. With over 10 years of experience he has become the go-to guru for streaming content from home and abroad.
The Australia Open is back and kicks off this week in what is one of the season’s hottest tournaments.
If you’re after watching the Australian Open then depending on where you are in the world you could find it difficult. In this guide I’ll be showing you the incredibly easy way to watch the entire Australian Open practically for free without the need for expensive cable networks or subscription services.
Oh, and before you wonder, it doesn’t require you to watch on any of those sketchy websites that see your device bombarded with questionable pop-ups either.
How to watch the Australian Open
The steps below require you to be of beginner skill level. There’s nothing complicated or technical. It will take about 5 minutes to complete.
Step 1: Choose a VPN service
To watch the Australian Open online from any country you’ll need to get yourself what is known as a ‘VPN‘ app.
It’s a small app that lets you change your online location. So if you’re in the US for example, you can look like you’re in the UK. Or if you’re in Australia you can look like you’re in Japan. The list is endless.
VPN apps are completely legal privacy apps used by millions of users daily to protect their online privacy.
The Australian Open is being shown for free on Indian TV network, SonyLiv. They’ve got an online streaming service too so you can watch on any type of device. The commentary is in full English and it’s shown in high quality.
So for this you’ll need a VPN that lets you pretend you’re in India. After some lengthy testing, I found NordVPN to be the best for the job but there are a few other choices.
One thing to be careful of is many VPN apps don’t work with SonyLiv so it’s important not to just choose one randomly from Google.
A good VPN will cost you a couple of dollars but it’s well worth it. You’ll also find some huge savings when signing up for a year allowing you to watch tennis and other sports for free all year round.
30-day money back guarantee
Step 2: Sign up for a VPN and download their app
There are hundreds of VPN apps out there but now you know the one you need it’s time to sign up and download their app.
I’ve put the steps you’ll need to follow to do this below. Just follow them – it won’t take you more than a few minutes.
- Visit and sign up for NordVPN by clicking here.
- On the NordVPN website press the ‘VPN Apps‘ menu and download the correct app for your type of device. You can also search your usual app store for ‘NordVPN’ and install directly from there too.
- Once the app is installed, open it. You’ll need to login with the account details you made when signing up.
- Now, find India on the world map or scroll down the country list to find India.
- Click Connect.
Step 3: Sit back and watch the Australian Open
Once the NordVPN app has made connection which should take less than 30 seconds it’s time to visit the streaming service showing the Australian Open.
You’ll need to head over to the SonyLiv website or if you’ve got the SonyLiv app for your mobile or tablet you can use that too.
Click the ‘Sport’ section and then on ‘Tennis’. You’ll now find a dedicated Australian Open section allowing you to watch all the games live or on catch-up at a later date if you’ve missed them.
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When is the Australian Open taking place?
Now that the qualifying rounds are out of the way the main Australian Open tournament starts on 14th January 2019.
This 107th edition of the event will run right through until 27th January.
It’s worth remembering time zones because Australia is some 11 hours ahead of the UK and between 16 – 20 hours ahead of the US. This means to watch live you may need to tune in very early in the morning or very late in the evening depending on what country you’re in.
It’s worth using a site like Time and Date to work out the exact times in your country.
Don’t worry too much though because there’s a large catch-up section to watch any games you miss.
Who’s in the Australian Open this year?
All the big names will be taking part this year and as usual it will be the who’s who of the tennis world.
In the Men’s tournament, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer will be the ones to watch as usual with Brit outsider Andy Murray making this possibly his very last tournament before retiring.
The Women’s tournament will see the likes of Halep, Kerber and Wozniacki pick up the racket with a host of other big names like Osaka, Stephens and Svitolina ones to watch.
Our money is on Djokovic to take the Men’s title with Sabalenka a possible ladies title winner.
In Summary: How to watch the Australia Open online
If you don’t have an expensive cable subscription and nor do you want one (I don’t blame you) then your options for watching the Australian Open can seem limited.
However, by using a VPN app from NordVPN you can watch an official overseas live stream of the games on India’s SonyLiv website (or app!).
All you need to do is sign up for NordVPN, download their app and connect to India. Once you’re connected pop along to the SonyLiv website or use their app and enjoy watching the Australian Open live online from any country in the world.
