Zverev vs Shelton: How to watch the 2026 US Open men's final free

Zverev, the top seed, is into his third consecutive Grand Slam final. He won Roland Garros earlier this year and then lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. Zverev made a slow start in New York, needing five sets in each of his opening two rounds, but has since won 13 consecutive sets, including straight-set victories over Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals and Karen Khachanov in the semifinals. Zverev comes in as the slight favorite, especially after beating Shelton in all five of their previous meetings.

Shelton has been arguably the more impressive player and has faced the tougher path, according to TechRadar. He took down defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that finished at 3:33 a.m. He then beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals to reach his first Grand Slam final.

For viewers, TechRadar said 9Now in Australia is showing the match at no cost. In Australia, the final will be shown live and free on Channel 9 and 9Gem, with a free live stream on 9Now. There are no direct free streams in the United States, but tennis fans can use a free trial of a live TV streaming service to watch the final at no charge. Those services include YouTube TV with a 10-day free trial, DirecTV Stream with a 5-day free trial and Hulu+Live TV with a 3-day free trial.

Viewers traveling outside their home country can use a VPN to watch the 2026 US Open final for free as if they were back home, TechRadar said. The publication recommends NordVPN, saying it comes with a 75% discount and three months for free. To use the method, TechRadar said viewers should install the VPN, choose a location in Australia such as Perth in the VPN app, then go to 9Now and watch the final as they would at home.

TechRadar said 9Now can be used on a range of devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Android phones and tablets with Android OS 5 and newer, Android TV, Apple iPhones and iPads with iOS 12 or later, Apple TV, Chromecast, Chrome, Fetch TV Gen 3 or newer, Firefox, Foxtel iQ, Freeview, Hisense TV, LG Smart TV with webOS 4 or higher, mobile apps, Mozilla, Roku and Safari.

TechRadar also said it tests and reviews VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses, such as accessing a service from another country subject to that service's terms and conditions, and protecting online security and privacy when abroad. It said it does not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services, and that consuming pirated content that is paid for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.