The 2026 Australian Open is underway, but for tennis fans in the US, ESPN is making life difficult. When they are able to see matches, the latest Nike kits are also eliciting a strong response.
ESPN Requires A Paid ESPN Unlimited Plan To See Show Court Matches
ESPN is not giving American tennis viewers many choices of what to watch without opening their wallets. We were so busy concerning ourselves with the broadcast team changes that we did not realize a bigger change was about to happen.
It seems ESPN2 is going to be the only channel to show early round action. With 128 men and women’s singles players in the draw, the ability to see just one early round match at a time is limiting.
The only way to see multiple matches is to buy an ESPN Unlimited membership. ESPN+/Hulu members have a slight advantage in that they can see outer court matches, but to see all live stadium court action across the six show courts, a $30 per month ESPN Unlimited membership is necessary. I know everything is pay-per-view streaming these days, but $30 when the main benefit is a two week tournament seems absurd. (For comparison purposes, I recently bought an annual Paramount + membership for $63.)
It is an absolute joke what ESPN has done with Australian Open coverage this year. REQUIRING a $30 ESPN Unlimited subscription to watch all the matches is crazy.
— Josh (@callmeWise) January 18, 2026
ESPN has lost their minds, $29.99 for 2 weeks of tennis? pic.twitter.com/OcX15frKdA
— Jake Titan (@jake24_23titan) January 18, 2026
As an example, on Sunday, Emma Raducanu, Venus Williams, and Carlos Alcaraz were playing at the same time. ESPN2 showed the Alcaraz match, switched to the Williams match near the end, and then went back to the Alcaraz match. A brief five second clip of Raducanu’s match after it was completed was shown.
Nike Continues To Be On Wrong Side Of Fashion News
While not everyone’s kit has been revealed yet, Frances Tiafoe is looking sharp in Lululemon.
Frances Tiafoe’s custom Australian Open kit, paying tribute to his parents’ home country of Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
(via @lululemon) pic.twitter.com/fFFjEjyYhh
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) January 16, 2026
However, Nike’s 2026 look is less than stellar.
I know that I criticize Nike for being boring, but at the 2026 Australian Open, the stripes and colors are an eye sore.
Aryna Sabalenka can wear anything, but this psychedelic stripe look is not a favorite. Sabalenka warned us that she would not have custom Nike kits for 2026, but hopefully that changes next year.
Lively colours, but that's just too much. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/GmH6hvwFIE
— Karolina (@love_thy_dog) January 8, 2026
Alcaraz’s kit is slightly less busy, but it resembles the Tennis Channel logo.
Surely Carlos Alcaraz and the Tennis Channel have some kind of partnership going on…?@TennisChannel @Tennis pic.twitter.com/sUE1PEh2cA
— The Tennis Site (@TheTennisSite) January 18, 2026
Nike tennis has the World No. 1 players in men’s and women’s tennis, and these designs fall short in promoting the brand.
