A match-up befitting a final, the two best players at this year's Australian Open are going head-to-head in the final four to see who will shoot for the title. It's American Cori 'Coco' Gauff up against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka is a set up with Gauff desperate to stay in the game.
You can watch Gauff vs Sabalenka in the US, UK and for FREE in Australia on 9Now. But don't worry if you're abroad while it's on because you can watch Gauff vs Sabalenka live streams from anywhere with a VPN.
► Start time (expected): 3.30 am ET / 12.30 am PT / 8.30 am UK / 7.30 pm AEDT
AU: 9Now (free)
US: ESPN Plus
UK: Discovery Plus
Still yet to make it out of her teens, Gauff's career trajectory is already a storied one and culminated in a magnificent win at her home Grand Slam last September. There she won an epic final against, you guessed it: one Aryna Sabalenka.
Now she looks hungry for more glory and has been quite sublime in Melbourne. She hadn't dropped a set until her quarter-final against Marta Kostyuk, but showed maturity beyond her years to come through that tough encounter that ran more than three hours.
Sabalenka will look to expose those extra rallies in Gauff's legs. The reigning champion here has had about as comfortable run as a player can get through to a Slam semi, losing but 16 games on her way here. She bagged a double-bagel against Lesia Tsurenko and made short shrift of Barbora Krejcikova in the quarters in a match that lasted little more than an hour.
It would be disrespectful to the other semi-finalists Qinwen Zheng and Dayana Yastremska to say that the winner of Gauff and Sabalenka's rubber will ultimately decide who ends up carrying away the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, but these players have been so dominant that either one of them will head into Saturday's final as overwhelming favorite.
If you're not sure of your best options for getting a Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka live stream, we have all the details you need on this page, including how to watch Australian Open 2024 online from anywhere in the world.
How to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka for free
If you're in Australia, you can watch Australian Open matches like Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka for FREE. This match-up is expected to start at around 7.30 pm AEDT, assuming there are no delays.
You can tune in to Channel 9 or the streaming service 9Now, which has live streams of ongoing matches, as well as highlights for each of the matches that have already taken place.
If you're an Aussie trying to access 9Now while outside Australia, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch Australian Open tennis from abroad.
How to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka in the US
The Gauff vs Sabalenka semi-final will take place on Thursday, January 25 with an expected start time of 3.30 am ET / 12.30 am PT in he US.
Our top recommendation for catching Gauff vs Sabalenka and other Australian Open matches would be to use the streaming service ESPN Plus. It's covering every single serve, smash and volley of the tournament and, according to ESPN, its streaming service "will stream all rounds on all courts live". Simple!
ESPN Plus costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year for a subscription, but many people sign up via the Disney Bundle, which offers it alongside Hulu and Disney Plus from just $14.99 per month.
If you have cable, then you'll also be able to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka live on ESPN2. Alternatively, stream ESPN2 through various live TV streaming services.
DirecTV offers it in its Entertainment package for $79.99 per month (or its higher tiers), Fubo has it in the basic Pro package at $79.99 per month (or through its 7-day free trial), and Sling TV has it in its Orange plan from $40 per month (or its Orange + Blue package which is $55 per month) and half-price for your first month.
How to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka in the UK
To watch Australian Open matches in the UK, you'll have to have either Eurosport on your TV package or to sign up to Discovery Plus.
For the latter, you'll need the Standard Discovery Plus plan (as opposed to Basic), which costs £6.99 a month and has no annual option (something that's worth emphasizing, seeing as the Basic plan does offer an annual option, but won't let you watch the tennis).
How to watch Gauff vs Sabalenka from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch Gauff vs Sabalenka on any of the streaming services above by using a VPN – no matter where you are in the world!
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
What time does Gauff vs Sabalenka match begin?
Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka is slated to start at 7.30 pm AEDT local time. So that's 8.30 am UK / 3.30 am ET / 12.30 am PT on Thursday, January 25.
Although some earlier rounds often see scheduled start times get moved back owing to prior matches running for longer, that's unlikely to happen at this stage of the tournament.
All you need to know about Gauff vs Sabalenka
What court is Gauff vs Sabalenka on?
Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka will take place at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena — the venue's main court.
Named for Australia's multi-Grand Slam winning tennis player Rod Laver who dominated the men's game in the 1960s, it holds just shy of 15,000 fans (14,820 to be precises) and was the first ever tennis venue to feature a retractable roof when it was completed and opened in 1988.
What is the Gauff vs Sabalenka head-to-head record?
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka have matched up six times in the past, with the American victorious on four occasions.
They have never met on an Australian court, but their most famous match was last September when Gauff came out on top in a three-set thriller at the US Open final to claim her first Grand Slam.
Played: 6
Gauff won: 4
Sabalenka won: 2
What are Gauff vs Sabalenka world rankings?
Aryna Sabalenka currently has the edge when it comes to WTA world rankings. The former number 1 is currently placed second behind Iga Swiatek.
Coco Gauff climbed up to number 3 after her US Open win last year, but is currently sitting at fourth. It would be expected that she would climb back over Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina, who crashed out here in just the second round.
