How to watch the French Open 2023: live stream the tennis from around the world

The French Open 2023 began on Sunday, May 28, and this second Grand Slam of the year is already serving us with on-court action and off-court drama.

The best Tennis players in the world are descending on Paris, ready for a busy two weeks of courtside action with the tournament ending on Sunday, June 11. There's a schedule below that you can use to see when different rounds begin and end.

Paris' Stade Roland Garros plays host to the French Open, the 126th such event, and this is the second Grand Slam of the year after the Australian Open in January.

Defending champion Iga Świątek in the women's bracket will be playing in the French Open, though men's Rafael Nadal champ was forced to pull out prior to the start of the tournament. But there's stars all over the bracket, including Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, Caspar Ruud, Jessica Peluga and many more.

If you're a tennis fan, you'll be keen to know how to watch the French Open when it airs. This guide will help you do that.

How to watch the French Open in the US

Unlike most of the tennis Grand Slam events, ESPN Plus doesn't air the French Open. However, you can still use cable or apps to watch the coverage.

For the majority of the coverage, you'll want to use the Tennis Channel to catch matches. Many later rounds, particularly the Men's and Women's Finals, air on NBC Sports.

If you have a cable plan that includes these, you're sorted, but several live TV streaming services will let you tune in too. FuboTV offers both channels while Sling TV Orange and DirectTV Stream provide Tennis Channel and Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV get NBC Sports.

There is an alternative if you don't want a whole live TV streaming service to catch the tennis. Peacock, NBC's streaming service, is offering all the same streams that NBC Sports will, and it only costs $4.99 per month to start.

Today's best Peacock TV deals

How to watch the French Open in the UK

Your best way of streaming the French Open in the UK is with the Discovery Plus streaming service, using its Entertainment and Sport plan, which you can find here.

This costs £6.99 and it gives you access to Eurosport, which owns exclusive streaming rights to the French Open in the UK. If you're a big fan of sports you can pay £59.99 for a year's subscription.

Be aware that Discovery Plus' £3.99-per-month or £39.99-per-year Entertainment plan won't work, as you need the version including Sport.

How to watch the French Open in Australia

If you live in Australia, you've got two options for watching the French Open.

First is Nine Network, and this is easier to recommend because you can watch coverage free on 9Now or live on your TV.

The second is Stan Sports, a sports streaming service, which costs $15 monthly for its lowest price.

How to watch the French Open online everywhere else

If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the French Open, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). 

A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your major sporting events like the French Open or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

What's the French Open schedule?

Tuesday, May 30: 1st round

More first-round action for Singles, with Men's Doubles beginning too.

Wednesday, May 31: 1st and 2nd round

The Doubles action gets fully underway for Men, Women and Mixed, while Men and Women's singles reach the second round.

Thursday, June 1: 1st and 2nd round

Women and Mixed Doubles continue its first round, while Singles continues in the second.

Friday, June 2: 1st, 2nd and 3rd round

Mixed Doubles ends its first round, while Men and Women Doubles continue in the second, and Men and Women Singles reach the third round.

Saturday, June 3: 2nd and 3rd round

No more first-round games! Women and Mixed Doubles finishes the third round, while Men's Doubles and all Singles play the third.

Sunday, June 4: 1st, 3rd and 4th round

Junior's Singles begins its first round, while all three Doubles strands play the third round and Men and Women's Singles reaches its fourth.

Monday, June 5: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th round and quarter-finals

Junior Doubles enters its first round, while first and second-round games play for Juniors Singles. Women and Mixed Doubles continues its third round, while Men's Doubles reaches the quarter-final stage. Men and Women's Singles continues in its fourth round.

Tuesday, June 6: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th round, quarter finals and Legends' Trophy

Wheelchair Tennis begins, while Juniors Doubles plays first and second-round games and Juniors Singles plays the second round. Mixed Doubles reaches the third round while Men and Women's Doubles is in the quarter-final. Men and Women's Singles also get to the quarter-finals. In addition, Emirates' open-age Legends Trophy games begin.

Wednesday, June 7: 2nd, 3rd and 4th round, quarter- and semi- finals and Legends' Trophy

Wheelchair reaches round 2, as Juniors Doubles continues in the round and Juniors Singles reaches its third round. Men and Women's Singles quarter-finals continue as do Women's Doubles, while Mixed Doubles gets to the semi-finals. Legends' Trophy games continue.

Thursday, June 8: 2nd round, quarter- and semi- finals, a final and Legends' Trophy

Some rounds begin to wrap up, with the Mixed Doubles final. Wheelchair 2nd round and semi-final games play, while Juniors Singles and Doubles play quarter-final games. Men's Doubles reach the semi-finals, and the Legends' Trophy gets more games.

Friday, June 9: semi-finals and Legends' Trophy

The wheelchair, Women's Doubles, Junior Singles and Doubles and Men's Singles strands all get semi-final games. Legends' Trophy continues.

Saturday, June 10: finals and Legends' Trophy

Wheelchair, Juniors Singles and Doubles and Men's Doubles all get semi-final games, while the Legends' Trophy reaches its penultimate day.

Sunday, June 11: finals and Legends' Trophy

The final day of play with Women's Doubles and Men's Singles finals playing, while the Legends' Trophy gets its final games.

Who's playing in the French Open?

Literally hundreds of tennis players are set to descend upon Paris in order to play, and these include the top 10 for both the men and women's leagues. For men, that's

1. Novak Djokovic
2. Carlos Alcaraz
3. Daniil Medvedev
4. Casper Ruud
5. Stevanos Tsitsipas
6. Andrey Rublev
7. Holger Rune
8. Jannik Sinner
9. Taylor Fritz
10. Felix Auger-Aliassime

And for women, that's:

1. Iga Swiatek
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Jessica Pegula
4. Caroline Garcia
5. Coco Gauff
6. Elena Rybakina
7. Ons Jabeur
8. Maria Sakkari
9. Daria Kasatkina
10. Petra Kvitova

Your French Open questions

When does the French Open take place?

The French Open begins on Sunday, May 28, when the first rounds of Men's and Women's Singles begin. Men's doubles start on Tuesday, May 30, and Women's and Mixed Doubles are the day after, May 31.

Quarterfinals for Doubles begin on Tuesday, June 6, with Singles beginning June 7.

The last weekend of the tournament, Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11, see the Women's Singles Final and Men's Singles Final, respectively.

Where does the French Open take place?

The French Open is hosted at the Stade Roland Garros, which is in Paris, France (you could have guessed that last part).

The tournament uses clay outdoor courts, and has done for over 100 years.

Who are the top tennis players?

While countless tennis players will play in the French Open, eyes will be on the current top players.

The Men's Singles top player is currently Novak Djokovic, with Carlos Alcaraz second and Casper Ruud third. Defending champion, Rafael Nadal, is seventh.

The Women's Singles is currently led by Iga Świątek, with Aryna Sabalenka second and Jessica Pegula third. Świątek is also the defending champion.