Australian Open presenting roster, 16 January 2023
Channel 9: Day session (11am-4pm): Tony Jones, Afternoon session (4pm-6pm): Roz Kelly, Night session (7pm-12am): James Bracey
9Gem: Day session (11am-6pm): Emma Lawrence, Night session (7pm-11pm): Seb Costello and Nick McArdle
Info on Adelaide International 2:
Nine’s Wide World of Sports will turn up the heat on the summer of tennis when the world’s best square off at the two-week Adelaide International, available live and free on the 9Network and 9Now from January 1-14.
In Adelaide International 1, eight of the world’s top 10 men and women will be on court for the first week of competition at The Drive.
Twenty-one-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will feature, alongside women’s world No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka and former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
In Adelaide International 2, more of the world’s best are on show including Australia’s top-ranked men’s player, Nick Kyrgios, who will use the tournament to rev up his 2023 Australian Open preparation.
This will be the first time Kyrgios plays an ATP 250 event in Adelaide, where he can expect tough opposition from world No. 8 Andrey Rublev and Sebastian Korda in the men’s singles.
South Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis will also line up for Adelaide International 2. Kokkinakis, who won his first ATP singles title at the Adelaide International earlier this year and then went on to win his first Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open, is looking forward to starting the new year at home.
The second week of the tournament will see the world’s top four-ranked women – Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia – line up with 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Swiatek, a three-time major winner, took the world No. 1 ranking from Ash Barty and has since dominated the women’s tour. Her 37-match winning streak after Barty’s retirement is the best since Martina Hingis in 1997.
Live coverage will be hosted by Nick McArdle and Brett Phillips, with matches available on the 9Network across 9Go! and 9Gem, or to stream anywhere, anytime on 9Now.
To celebrate the Summer of Tennis 2023, Nine has today announced the launch of its brand new podcast, Australian Open: The Happy Slam, produced by 9Podcasts with Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
From the creators of the highly successful Rugby League podcast “Stories of Origin”, Australian Open: The Happy Slam features an all-star line-up as impressive as the tournament, with some of the best and most loved players from Australian tennis history sharing their recollections on how they helped make the AO what it is today.
Served up in this six-part series hosted by Channel9 sports presenter, James Bracey, listeners will be given front row access to untold stories from Pat Rafter, Dylan Alcott, Jim Courier, Jelena Dokic, Ajla Tomljanovic and Todd Woodbridge.
James Bracey said: “The Australian Open has become the world leader in grand slams. It’s an exclamation mark on both the Australian summer and the sporting calendar. It was a personal highlight to find out how much the Australian Open has impacted and shaped the careers of our favourite players, and the impact they have had on the tournament itself.”
The full six-episode schedule that will air in the lead up to the AO is below, then as the tournament gets into full swing, the podcast will feature daily tournament updates and insights from legendary sports commentator, Craig Gabriel. Released each morning, the daily update from Australian Open: The Happy Slam will review the highs and lows of the previous day’s play and preview the excitement coming up in the day ahead.
- Episode 1 – Pat Rafter: The Aussie Icon
- Episode 2 – Dylan Alcott: The Game Changer
- Episode 3 – Jelena Dokic: The Fighter
- Episode 4 – Todd Woodbridge: The Tennis Lifer
- Episode 5 – Jim Courier: The Adopted Aussie
- Episode 6 – Ajla Tomljanovic: The Future
Australian Open: The Happy Slam is available to stream on all leading podcast platforms.
Listen Now:
I think Kyrgios withdrew from Adelaide iirc.
Strange that Nine only put up an official press release for the Happy Slam podcast today, given the entire series was released 12 days ago. It was also promoted during 3AW’s Wide World of Sports show in the past two weeks.
Is Nine showing the Final of the Hobart International on 9 in some capacity? Or is it all on Stan Sports?
I think all on Stan Sports, but every match also able to be streamed on wta.tv, the WTA streaming service.
The tickets for the Kyrgios Djokovic match on Friday night sold out in 5 mins today. It will be shown on Youtube, likely be televised.
The Adelaide International 1 is the replacement of the Brisbane International, while Adelaide International 2 replaces the Sydney International. Brisbane and Sydney have the United Cup as their only tennis tournament.
Should not have happened.
The sporting year is set to explode to life on Nine’s Wide World of Sports when the superstars of world tennis fire up for the Australian Open, with exclusive coverage of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2023 from Monday, January 16.
Broadcast on Channel 9HD and 9GemHD, the best matches and biggest moments will be available live and free across 276 hours of coverage.
9Now gives fans the ability to watch every point of every match, at any time on the device of their choosing, in full HD with the new start over button allowing fans to watch from the start of each session.
On court, reigning champion Rafael Nadal is back to defend his men’s singles crown, headlining the draw with the much heralded return of Novak Djokovic, who is in red-hot form to win his tenth Australian Open trophy.
With a Grand Slam final now under his belt, Australia’s main hope for glory rests with the mercurial Nick Kyrgios, who will be riding the wave of home support to take down the biggest names in the game.
Amongst them are 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 4), Germany’s Alexander Zverev and American Taylor Fritz, fresh from steering his nation to United Cup victory.
The competition for the women’s singles crown will be led by world No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (No. 2), American duo Jess Pegula (No. 3) and Coco Gauff (No. 7) and Adelaide International winner Aryna Sabalenka (No. 5).
For the Aussie women, Ajla Tomljanovic (No. 33) is looking to build on her quarter-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
Joining Kyrgios to fly the Aussie flag in the men’s draw will be Alex de Minaur (No. 24), who defeated Nadal in the United Cup, Christopher O’Connell (No. 78), Jordan Thompson (No. 84) and Thanasi Kokkinakis (No. 93).
Aussie wildcards John Millman, Jason Kubler, Alexei Popyrin and Rinky Hijikata will all get a shot at pulling off underdog victories as they fight for a place in the final week.
In a big win for fans, the box-office men’s double combination of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will reunite to defend their memorable 2022 doubles title.
To cover all the action, Nine’s Wide World of Sports has assembled an ace team of hosts and expert commentators who will take viewers through every game, set and match.
Commentary throughout the tournament will be provided by Jim Courier, Todd Woodbridge, Lleyton Hewitt, Jelena Dokic, Dylan Alcott, Casey Dellacqua, Sam Smith, Alicia Molik, Mark Philippoussis, Darren Cahill and Peter Psaltis.
On Channel 9, the hosts are James Bracey, Roz Kelly and Tony Jones, while on 9Gem Nick McArdle, Emma Lawrence and Seb Costello will host our broadcast.
Additional off-court reporting will come from Alicia Loxley, Matthew Pavlich, Clint Stanaway, Danika Mason and Madeline Slattery.
Also off the court, Andy Lee returns with a new twist for 2023 when Sophie Monk and Mike Goldstein join him for a special Australian Open edition of The Hundred with the biggest names in tennis.
Every morning on 9Now, The Morning Serve will give fans a comprehensive look ahead at the day’s play, as well as dissecting the biggest talking points out of Melbourne Park.
Men’s tournament wildcard player John Millman will provide expert comments throughout the tournament to Nine’s print mastheads, radio division and @wwos social media accounts.
In addition to Channel 9 and 9Now, Stan Sport will have every match ad-free, live and on demand.
Nine’s Director of Sport, Brent Williams, said: “The Australian Open has become an integral piece of our programming schedule and 2023 promises to be no different. The biggest names in the game are here and the storylines evolving are as compelling as always.
“Whether you’re a tennis fanatic, a general sports lover or a casual fan, Nine has all bases covered for viewers to consume the ultimate summer sports festival however they choose.”
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2023
LIVE & FREE ON CHANNEL 9HD, 9GEMHD & 9NOW
FROM MONDAY, JANUARY 16
Update to tomorrow night Wednesday 11 January
07:30 pm Tennis Plays For Peace
Join some of the world’s best players at Rod Laver Arena as they put aside their rivalries to bring their top shots and most entertaining rallies to support a global fund-raising effort for the people of Ukraine.
https://rodlaverarena.com.au/event/tennis-plays-for-peace-2023/
Is Medvedev playing
Lol great question!
Representing himself yes
John McEnroe is a noticeable absentee from Nine’s AO commentary line-up. According to Herald Sun, he isn’t making the trip to Australia with his employer ESPN, so his expertise won’t be shared with Nine.
He’s missed the last couple as well, citing covid related reasons, but one now wonders if he just can’t be bothered making the long haul? He was also signed by Nine’s previous sport boss (now radio boss) Tom Malone rather than current chief Brent Williams.
While he was the star ‘fresh face’ when Nine first broadcast in 2019, it became clear after a short while that his commentary wasn’t a patch on the one and only Jim Courier and was highly polarising, often saying dumb things and sounding like he’d rather be anywhere else.
IMO, no huge loss. He’ll no doubt be featured on live-crosses during coverage from the US, at least for American audiences and anyone that wants to pay a handsome price for his brief services.
So what’s the big difference between 9Now’s & Stan Sports coverage & will Stan Sport use different presenters & commentary to Channel 9?
I think Stan Sport will take the world feed. Similar case when Foxtel had the joint rights with Seven all those years ago.
Friday 13 January 2023
Get set for explosive action as tennis’ most famous frenemies come together. Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will face off for the first time since their epic Wimbledon final at Rod Laver Arena for charity.
[1 hour program]
Sydney, Melbourne
07:00 PM Channel 9
Brisbane
06:00 PM 9Gem
Adelaide
06:30 PM 9Gem
Darwin
05:30 PM 9Gem
Perth
04:00 PM Channel 9
Note that Adelaide International will move to 9Go!:
Brisbane - 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Adelaide - 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Darwin 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Sydney, Melbourne and Perth it continues on 9Gem
