The 2024 tennis season is well and truly warming up. With the Brisbane International and United Cup tournaments done and dusted, all eyes are now on the big-ticket Australian Open - the first Grand Slam on the ATP calendar - which will be played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.?(More Tennis News)

The biggest update in the lead-up to the Australian Open is a disappointing one as Spanish tennis titan Rafael Nadal has ruled himself out of the tourney, owing to a a "micro tear on a muscle". Nadal said he will fly back to Spain to see his doctor and get some treatment and rest. ?

The southpaw had made a strong return to elite tennis after an year-long layoff, getting to the quarter-finals in the Brisbane International tennis tournament. But the niggle with which he seemed to be playing in the second and third sets of his quarter-final against Jordan Thompson - which he lost - were the prime cause for concern.

Nevertheless, there is lots to look forward to at the much-awaited event Down Under, with defending men's singles champion Novak Djokovic aiming to extend his dominance in Melbourne with an 11th title, while Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka looks to retain the women's trophy despite a crushing 0-6, 3-6 loss at the hands of Elena Rybakina at the Brisbane International final.

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Draw

The Australian Open singles draw will be held on Thursday, 11 January, 2024. There are 128 players in the men's and women's draw and 32 of them will be seeded. Seedings are used to separate the top players and ensure they do not meet in the early rounds at a Grand Slam.

Schedule

The qualifying rounds were slated to begin on Monday, January 8. But they had to be cancelled due to incessant rain. So the matches will start on Tuesday instead, weather permitting. If rain continues through the week, the matches can be pushed back all the way until Saturday, with the tournament beginning one day later than scheduled. ?

Players have to win three qualifying matches to earn a place in the main draw, which will begin on Sunday, 14 January at Melbourne Park and end on Sunday, 28 January. It will be the first time that the Australian Open will start on a Sunday instead of the usual Monday. The marquee tournament has been extended to 15 days as organisers hope to avoid late-night finishes.

The women's singles final will take place on Saturday, 27 January, with the men's final to conclude the tournament on Sunday, 28 January.

Live Streaming, Telecast Details

Australian Open 2024 will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network in India. The matches can be live streamed on the Sony LIV app and website in India. ?

Players To Watch Out For

In addition to top seed Djokovic, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Italy's Jannik Sinner will be the star attractions in the men's singles category.?

In the women's field, Poland's Iga Swiatek leads the way after regaining the world number one ATP ranking from Sabalenka at the end of 2023. Sabalenka is seeded second in front of American Coco Gauff, who won the US Open in September, and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Timing

With Melbourne being 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of India time, the day sessions will start as early as 4:30am IST on the outer courts and at 5:30am on the show courts. The night sessions - which are held on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena - begin at 1:30pm IST.

The women's and men's singles finals are slated to begin at 2pm IST.

Prize Money
The total prize money for Australian Open 2024 is a record 86.5 million Australian dollars (INR 481.2 crore approximately). It represents an increase of 13% from the previous year's total, with increases in every round. The women's and men's singles champions will each receive 3.15 million Australian dollars (INR 17.5 crore).