What Is the Next Major Tennis Tournament? 2026–27 Calendar

The next major after the 2026 US Open is Australian Open 2027

As of September 9, 2026, the US Open is the current major; the next major after it is the 2027 Australian Open. Australian Open Opening Week runs January 11–16 at Melbourne Park, and the main draw runs January 17–31. Those dates come from Tennis Australia's official AO27 announcement and ticket information.

The US Open is still the current major on September 9

ATP's Grand Slam guide lists the 2026 US Open from August 31 through September 13 in New York. A search for “next major” during that window can mean either the event happening now or the tournament after it. The accurate answer therefore needs a date: fans looking for current major tennis should follow New York; fans planning the next Grand Slam trip should look to Melbourne.

Do not treat a tournament's final date as the next daily order of play. The event window covers many rounds, while exact matchups and court assignments arrive by session. Use the daily ATP schedule for match-level information during the US Open, then confirm the official event order.

Australian Open main-draw play starts January 17

The AO27 festival begins January 11, but the main draw begins Sunday, January 17 and ends Sunday, January 31. The earlier Opening Week contains qualifying, practice and fan programming. A traveler who wants first-round major singles must buy for the main-draw period; a fan interested in qualifying can plan for the prior week.

No named player is guaranteed a particular session this far ahead. Entry, seeding, draw placement and the daily order of play each arrive on their own timetable. Lock the official date window first, then wait for the later layers before promising a matchup or court.

What counts as a major tennis tournament

In tennis, “major” means one of the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon or US Open. The term does not include a Masters 1000, ATP 500, ATP 250, ATP Finals or Davis Cup tie, even when that event has a major audience and elite field.

The confusion often comes from ordinary language. A broadcaster may call an important Masters final a “major match,” but that adjective does not change the tournament's official category. For calendar planning, use “Grand Slam” when you mean the four majors and use the named ATP level for tour events.

Grand Slams also sit alongside the ATP Tour rather than appearing as an ATP 1000 tier. The ATP calendar integrates their weeks and awards ranking points from their results, while the tournaments operate under the Grand Slam structure. This is why ATP's 2027 release describes 59 tour tournaments in addition to the four Slams.

“Major” is also independent of the player's gender or draw. The same four championships stage men's and women's singles, doubles and other competitions within their programs. A search for the next men's major and a search for the next women's major therefore point to the same tournament window, although individual match dates and broadcasters may differ.

The distinction matters for format and travel. Men's main-draw singles at majors uses best-of-five matches, while ordinary ATP Tour singles uses best-of-three. Draw size, session length, qualifying and ticket products also differ. Check the ATP levels guide when a search result labels an event loosely.

Australian Open 2027 dates and planning milestones

Plan AO27 in layers: Opening Week, main-draw weeks, then the daily order of play. The broad dates are confirmed now, but a ticket date cannot guarantee a particular player until the draw and session assignments exist.

Opening Week runs January 11–16

Tennis Australia's official program places qualifying and player practice in Opening Week, alongside fan events. These matches matter because qualifiers compete for main-draw places, but they are not first-round main-draw matches. Opening Week can suit fans who want more courts and lower-stakes access; it does not deliver the same field certainty as a later championship session.

The main draw runs January 17–31

Main-draw Week One runs Sunday, January 17 through Sunday, January 24. Week Two runs January 25–31 and concentrates the later rounds and finals. The official date announcement says the singles finals will be held January 30 and 31. Before buying, match your goal—first-round volume, a night session, quarterfinals or a final—to the ticket product rather than relying on the festival's overall January 11 start.

Melbourne is on Australian Eastern Daylight Time during the tournament. An evening match may appear in the morning for European viewers and during the prior afternoon or evening in North America. Remote viewers should save the converted time only after the official schedule publishes it.

Order of play arrives much later

Entries show who intends to compete; seedings position players; the draw establishes possible paths; the daily order assigns a court and time. Each layer answers a different question. Months ahead, the right claim is that main-draw play begins January 17—not that a named star will play Rod Laver Arena that night.

Near the tournament, combine the official AO schedule with the local-time match view. Recheck before travel because heat, long matches and weather can alter a court sequence even after publication.

The four majors in calendar order

The Grand Slam season travels from Melbourne hard courts to Paris clay, London grass and New York hard courts. That order is stable, but exact dates shift with each year's calendar. Use the sequence to plan; use official event pages to lock a date.

Melbourne begins the major season

The Australian Open is the first major and is played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park. Its January position makes it the next major after the previous season's US Open, even though United Cup and other Australian summer events occur first. In 2027, the confirmed main draw is January 17–31.

Paris and London change the surface test

Roland-Garros is the clay-court major in Paris. Its official events page currently displays a May 17–June 6, 2027 tournament window. Clay rewards movement, patience and point construction differently from hard courts. Wimbledon follows in London on grass, creating the sharpest surface transition of the Slam calendar.

Grass changes bounce, footing and preparation time, and the short grass season gives players fewer tournament weeks to adjust. Do not copy a prior year's Wimbledon dates into 2027. Wait for the official Championships calendar and ticket material before making non-refundable plans.

New York closes the Grand Slam year

The US Open returns the majors to outdoor hard courts and closes the annual Slam sequence. It usually spans late August and early September. Night sessions can extend late in New York, which changes the viewing date abroad and makes the daily order more useful than a generic event range.

The surface sequence helps explain why results from one major do not automatically predict the next. Travel, climate and preparation time change with every leg. Use recent form on the relevant surface as context, while recognizing that a Grand Slam draw and five-set men's format can create a different test from the surrounding tour events.

What ATP events happen before the next major

The tour does not pause between the US Open and Australian Open. Ranking races, Asian events, European indoor tournaments, team competition and the ATP Finals fill the gap. They matter for form and qualification even though none is a Grand Slam.

The Asian swing follows New York

After the US Open, players shift back to tour-level hard-court events in Asia, including major stops such as Beijing, Tokyo and Shanghai within the seasonal calendar. Fields and exact weeks should be checked on the live ATP schedule this week, because withdrawals and entry changes are common after a demanding major.

These results can reshape ranking positions and the season-ending race. A player who lost early in New York may gain ground during the fall; a deep US Open run may lead to rest. Treat announced entry lists as plans until the draw and order of play confirm participation.

Turin crowns the ATP season

The 2026 ATP Finals is scheduled for November 15–22 in Turin. It gathers qualified singles players and doubles teams and uses round-robin play before knockouts. It is a premium season finale, yet it is not a fifth major. Winning Turin does not alter the Grand Slam calendar sequence.

January tune-ups lead into Melbourne

The 2027 season begins before the Australian Open main draw. United Cup and Australian summer events give players competitive hard-court preparation, while AO qualifying occurs during Opening Week. Fans asking for the next men's tennis tournament may therefore receive a January tour event as the answer; fans asking for the next major still receive Australian Open.

Use event level as the filter. The full calendar answers what comes next chronologically, while the Grand Slam sequence answers what comes next among the four majors. Both can be true at the same time.

How to track the next major without guessing the schedule

Use each official update for the decision it can actually support. Confirmed event dates support travel planning; entries and draws support player-path planning; the daily order supports match-time planning; a territorial broadcaster list supports viewing.

Lock dates before buying travel

Start with the tournament's official date announcement and ticket portal. For AO27, distinguish January 11–16 Opening Week from January 17–31 main-draw play. Compare the ticket's venue access, session, refund and transfer terms before committing to flights or lodging. A grounds pass and a reserved stadium seat answer different needs.

Avoid buying from an unfamiliar seller because a search result uses the tournament logo. The AO FAQ directs buyers to its authorized routes and warns that unauthorized resale can result in denied entry. Save the order confirmation and read the name/mobile-ticket rules for every attendee.

Wait for the draw and daily order

An entry list means a player is entered, subject to withdrawal. The draw establishes the bracket and possible opponents. Only the order of play assigns a match to a day, session and court. Even then, “not before” and “to follow” times depend on earlier matches. Recheck on the morning of your session and shortly before departure.

Verify coverage in your country

A streaming answer from another country may be unusable because rights differ by territory and event. Start with the tournament's broadcaster page and ATP's TV schedule, then check the named service in your location. Confirm whether it carries outer courts, replays and the specific session rather than assuming one channel shows every match.

Use the ATP watching guide for the verification steps, but let the current rights holder's listing settle the final answer. Do not promote unauthorized “free” streams; they can disappear mid-match and expose viewers to deceptive ads.