Australian Open 2025: How to watch on TV, betting odds and more to know

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Get ready for the Australian Open before play begins with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament, what the betting odds are, what the schedule is, who the defending champions are and more:

The draw to set the brackets for the women's and men's singles fields is Thursday in Australia (Wednesday EST). The time in Melbourne is 14 hours later than on the East Coast of the United States, so when play begins in the tournament's main draw on Sunday morning in Australia, it will be Saturday night in New York. In general, matches begin at 11 a.m. local time (7 p.m. the night before EST), and the night sessions start at 7 p.m. local time (3 a.m. EST).

— In the U.S.: ESPN and Tennis Channel.

— Other countries are listed here.

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are listed as the money-line favorites to win the Australian Open, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Sabalenka — who won each of the past two Australian Opens and the U.S. Open in September — is at +225. She is followed by 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff at +300. No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who owns five Grand Slam titles but none from the Australian Open, is next at +500, with 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina at +800. Sinner, whose first Grand Slam trophy arrived at Melbourne Park a year ago and second came at the U.S. Open, is listed at +140, ahead of four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz at +333 and 24-time Slam champ Novak Djokovic at +450. There's a drop to fourth pick Alexander Zverev at +900.

The Australian Open is played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park. Women play best-of-three-set matches; men play best-of-five. There are separate day and night sessions. The event lasts 15 days. There are retractable roofs on the three largest courts: Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena.

Aryna Sabalenka will be the top-seeded woman, and Jannik Sinner will be the top-seeded man.

— Jan. 12-14: First Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 15-16: Second Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 17-18: Third Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 19-20: Fourth Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 21-22: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)

— Jan. 23: Women’s Semifinals

— Jan. 24: Men’s Semifinals

— Jan. 25: Women’s Final

— Jan. 26: Men’s Final

Aryna Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Jannik Sinner eliminated 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

Let’s see if you know as much as you think you do about the Australian Open. The Associated Press has put together a quiz to test your knowledge — the faster you answer, the more points you get. Try to top the leaderboard.

Get caught up:

— Novak Djokovic says he still feels ‘trauma’ when he travels to Australia because of his deportation

— Defending men's champion Jannik Sinner had an eventful 2024

— Iga Swiatek agreed to serve a doping suspension last season

— Coco Gauff is coming off a title at the last big women's tournament of 2024

— Jenson Brooksby spoke to the AP about being autistic before his 1st Slam in 2 years

— Aryna Sabalenka added a U.S. Open trophy in 2024 to the past two Melbourne Park titles

— Rafael Nadal has joined fellow Big Three member Roger Federer in retirement

Total prize money at the Australian Open is rising to a tournament-record 96.5 million Australian dollars (about $60 million). The two singles champions each will receive 3.5 million Australian dollars (about $2.15 million), up from 3.15 million Australian dollars (about $1.95 million) a year ago, but still below the pre-pandemic high of 4.12 million Australian dollars ($2.55 million) in 2020.

3 — Aryna Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women's singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.

24 — The number of Grand Slam singles championship won by Novak Djokovic, tied with Margaret Court for the most by anyone in the history of tennis. One more will give Djokovic sole possession of the record.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

FILE - Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Zheng Qinwen of China in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.(AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File)

FILE - Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, left, and Zheng Qinwen of China play as the sun sets during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

FILE - Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, center, holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Zheng Qinwen of China, second left, in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

FILE - Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after defeating Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rimmed to the south by a 3-mile stretch of Pacific beach, and to the north by craggy bluffs and deep, verdant canyons, the seaside enclave of Pacific Palisades has long been a celebrity hideaway and magnet for those drawn to nature’s doorstep not far from the skyline of downtown Los Angeles.

Venerated in song and a backdrop for a long list of films and TV shows, The Beach Boys celebrated its famous waves in “Surfin’ U.S.A.” The comedian Jerry Lewis lived there and was once honorary mayor, and the eponymously named TV series “Pacific Palisades” was produced by Aaron Spelling.

Bookended by Malibu to the west and Santa Monica to the southeast, the neighborhood of 23,000 within sprawling Los Angeles might not be as well known as its neighbors, but it has a rich, celebrity-studded history that followed its founding in the early 1920s.

A raging coastal wildfire Tuesday put the community in the headlines, as firefighters sought to hold off the spreading flames amid a strengthening windstorm as thousands of residents fled for safety. Smoke from the fire was visible for miles along the coastline.

Actor James Woods was among those who posted footage of flames burning on a hill near his home. “Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, urged people who abandoned their cars to leave their keys behind so they could be moved to make way for fire trucks. “This is not a parking lot,” Guttenberg told KTLA.

Envisioned a century ago as a religious commune, today Pacific Palisades' narrow, winding roads are lined with homes clinging to the hillsides overlooking the ocean. The median listing price is $4.6 million, with one eight-bedroom estate priced at nearly $40 million, according to the website Realtor.com

The community also is known for its walkable, small-town like commercial district, which lures visitors with its farmers’ market and trendy restaurants and shops. One of its most popular attractions is the Getty Villa, a branch of the famous J. Paul Getty Museum focused on Greek and Roman antiquities.

The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)