Another one of the jewels in the crown of global tennis gets underway on Wednesday, May 8, as a key event on both the ATP and WTA Tours begins at the Foro Italico in Rome. The 81st edition of the Italian Open will see the best players in the world battle it out for events worth up to 1000 ranking points in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. 

Novak Djokovic enters the men’s singles competition as the top-seeded player with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury, however the defending champion is second seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat Denmark’s Holger Rune in the 2023 final. Rune had previously dumped world number one Djokovic out in a shock quarterfinal upset. 

The defending champion of the women’s singles tournament coming into 2024 is this year’s fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who won by default in the Rome final 12 months ago after 30th-seeded outsider Anhelina Kalinina was forced to retire with injury at the start of the second set. Rybakina will be hoping to defend her title, but could come up against Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka or world number one Iga Swiatek along the way. 

BUY NOW: Cheapest tickets still remaining for 2024 Italian Open tennis

There’s plenty of world-class tennis over the next 12 days as one of the highest-ranking events on both the men’s and women’s Tours gets underway, and The Sporting News has all the TV, streaming, scheduling and ticketing details you’ll need. 

2024 Italian Open tennis schedule 

This year’s Italian Open, also known as the Internazioli d’Italia, begins on Wednesday, May 8 from Centre Court of the Foro Italico Complex in Rome, Italy — in the shadows of the Stadio Olimpico.

The finals tournament takes place over 12 days between May 8 and Sunday, May 19, as hundreds of men’s and women’s players battle it out across 14 different courts at Foro Italico. All the courts are on clay, and while specific timings for the latter stages of each competition are yet to be confirmed the WTA final on Saturday, May 18 will precede the ATP decider the following day. 

2024 Italian Open TV channel, live stream

Here’s how to watch live coverage of the 2024 Italian Open tennis tournament across the globe:

USA: The home of tennis in the US, the Tennis Channel, are broadcasting full coverage live on American cable TV, as well as their streaming service TC Plus. Sling TV and Fubo also have access to the Tennis Channel’s feed and are streaming the whole tournament live for subscribers. The latter is also offering a FREE trial for new customers.

Canada: TSN is the place for Canadian fans to catch all the action from this year’s Italian Open, with streaming of the coverage both live and on catch-up also set to be provided by their streaming service TSN Direct. DAZN also have a deal in place to live stream all WTA events, so you can catch the women’s competition via your subscription.

UK: Sky Sports’ own tennis channel will be showing live and catch-up coverage of this year’s Madrid Open, either via your TV subscription with Sky, or access to either of their broadcast feeds via streaming on Sky Go or NOW TV. 

Australia: beIn Sports are showing exclusive coverage of this year’s Italian Open for viewers down under, and Australian tennis fans can also stream the action from both ATP and WTA tournaments online via beIN Sports Connect. 

If the Italian Open is not available to watch live in your location or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favourite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.

WATCH FROM ANYWHERE: Sign up for NordVPN (30-day moneyback guarantee)

2024 Italian Open prize money

Many events on the tennis calendar which feature concurrent ATP and WTA tournaments often split the hefty prize money straight down the middle, ensuring that both the male and female competitors pocket a sum reflective of the stage they’ve reached in their respective competitions. 

However, the Italian Open is one of the few events — particularly a high-ranking one on both the ATP Tour Masters 1000 and the WTA 1000 — which still awards the men’s tournament a higher purse than its female counterpart.

The ATP winner will receive a €963,225 prize come May 19’s final, with the runner-up getting €512,260, while the WTA champion is set to pocket a still sizeable €699,690. You’d hope that by next year’s tournament, the Italian Open organisers will be more in tune with many of the other events which feature men’s and women’s competitions of equal rankings and standing. 

Buy 2024 Italian Open tennis tickets 

• Tickets: Stubhub
• Cheapest: $19
• Most expensive: $4,362

This is one of the most prestigious and in-demand meetings on the entire tennis calendar, and as such remaining tickets for this year’s Italian Open are becoming sparser by the day on Stubhub. The earlier rounds, beginning on May 8, still have seats up for grabs starting at a modest $19, with a full panoramic display of each court at the Foro Italico Complex allowing you to pick exactly which seat and view you’d like. 

Understandably, those prices begin to sky-rocket as the respective ATP and WTA tournaments come towards the deciding stages. The most expensive ticket currently on sale with Stubhub — which could still increase further — is an eye-watering $4,362. That will book you a place on Sunday, May 19 for both of the doubles finals, as well as the ATP decider on Centre Court.