The end of an era is upon us. This year’s French Open is very likely the last time we will see Rafael Nadal play on the red clay of Roland-Garros. The 37-year-old Spaniard has battled injuries over the past two seasons but has proclaimed himself fit enough to play in the tournament he has won an astonishing 14 times. His career record at the French Open is a mind-boggling 112-3.
Having played sparingly this year, however, Nadal enters unseeded in this year’s French Open and has drawn a difficult first-round matchup against No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev. Defending champion Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men’s draw followed by No. 2 Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz.
On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek is starting to give off “Rafa” vibes in Paris. The world No. 1 is seeking her third straight French Open title and four out of the last five. Standing in her way are No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 4 Elena Rybakina.
The French Open gets underway in Paris on Sunday, May 26. You can see the complete men’s draw and women’s draw and full match schedule. Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the tournament live wherever you are in the world.
The 2024 French Open could be a farewell for Rafael Nadal, who has won the tournament a record 14 times starting with his first title in 2005.
How to watch or stream the French Open in the US
The French Open is being shown live on NBC, Tennis Channel and Peacock. If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch the matches on NBC and Tennis Channel with a live-TV streaming service. For the big matches at the end of the tournament on NBC, however, you will need to make sure you can get a live feed of NBC in your area. In some markets, you can watch on-demand but not live content from NBC and the other local networks.
If you live in an area with good reception, you can watch matches on NBC for free just by attaching an affordable (under $30) indoor antenna to nearly any TV.
Peacock offers two Premium plans: The ad-supported Premium plan costs $6 a month, and the ad-free Premium plan costs $12 a month. You can watch the French Open live with either plan.
Peacock will have live afternoon coverage most days of the tournament and will show the big matches live at the end of the tournament, including the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals.
NBC is included in Sling TV’s $40-a-month Blue package, and you can also add the Tennis Channel for an extra $11 a month. Enter your address here to see which local channels are available where you live.
YouTube TV costs $73 a month and includes NBC. You can add Tennis Channel as part of the $11-a-month Sports Plus add-on package. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $77 a month and includes NBC. You can add Tennis Channel for an extra $10 a month. Click the “View channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
DirecTV Stream’s basic $80-a-month package includes NBC, but you’ll need the $15-a-month sports package if you also want Tennis Channel. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.
Read our DirecTV Stream review.
Fubo’s basic $80-per-month Pro package includes NBC, but Fubo charges an RSN fee (either $12 per month if you get one RSN or $15 per month if you have two or more in your area) that raises the monthly charge to $92 or $95. Adding Tennis Channel costs an additional $11 a month. Click here to see which local channels you get.
How to watch the French Open from anywhere with a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
How to watch or stream the French Open in the UK
Tennis fans in the UK will need to subscribe to Eurosport or the streaming service Discovery Plus to watch the French Open.
A subscription to Discovery Plus in the UK costs £7 per month or £60 for the year.
The service is available on a wide array of devices, and also includes access to all Eurosport TV channels.
How to watch or stream the French Open in Canada
Canadian tennis fans can watch the tournament via streaming service TSN Plus. Existing TSN cable subscribers can watch at no extra charge using the details of their TV provider.
TSN Plus is a direct-streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, Nascar and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
How to watch or stream the French Open in Australia
Good news for sports fans Down Under: They can watch the French Open without paying a cent, thanks to free-to-air broadcaster Channel 9. That also means you’ll be able to watch the tournament live online via its streaming service 9Now.
Aussies also have a second option for streaming the action from Roland-Garros via pay TV sports network Stan Sport, which is livestreaming every match on every court without ads. A Stan Sport subscription costs AU$15 per month on top of a AU$12 Stan subscription.
9Now has apps for most smart devices. In addition to offering a wide range of sport, the service carries Love Island UK.
Quick tips for streaming the French Open using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the tournament may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
