Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television

1) Australian Open

The first of the four Grand Slam events of the year is nearing conclusion. The women’s singles semi-finals are on Thursday, with the men’s semi-finals on Friday morning. The women’s champion will be crowned on Saturday morning and the men’s winner will be decided the following day. There will definitely be a new champion in both of the main competitions, as 2022 winner Ashleigh Barty has retired and reigning men’s champion Rafael Nadal was beaten in the second round by American Mackenzie McDonald. - Eurosport, Monday-Sunday

2) Football Leagues

After the phony war of the pre-season tournaments, the 2023 intercounty gaelic football season begins proper next weekend with the opening shots of the women’s and men’s football leagues. The tv action begins on Saturday when Meath begin their defence of the women’s Division One title against Leinster rivals Dublin. Later that day, it’s battles between more neighbours, with the men’s side from the capital taking on Kildare, and Mayo hosting Galway. On Sunday afternoon, Tyrone travel to Roscommon, while the tie of the weekend is surely Kerry beginning their Division One title defence in Donegal. - Saturday & Sunday, TG4 & RTE

3) Race of Champions

If you ever wondered why there isn’t a race for the world’s best drivers in identical cars . . . well, there is. Next weekend’s Race of Champions features stars from Formula One, the World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, etc – including nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb and four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel. And if that wasn’t enough, the 2023 event will take place in northern Sweden, on a circuit of snow and ice on the frozen Baltic Sea. - Saturday & Sunday, Sky Sports F1

MONDAY (Jan 23rd)

• TENNIS - Eurosport, midnight-1.15pm Australian Open
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 5.30pm Bologna v Cremonese; 7.45pm Inter Milan v Empoli
• SOCCER Sky Sports PL - Premier League - 8pm Fulham v Tottenham
• SOCCER - LaLigaTV & Premier Sports - La Liga - 8pm Valencia v Almería

TUESDAY (Jan 24th)

• TENNIS - Eurosport, 1.30am-1.15pm Australian Open
• HOCKEY - BT Sport 1 - Men’s World Cup Quarter-finals - 11am Australia v Spain; 1.30pm Belgium v New Zealand
• NETBALL - Sky Sports Arena - 2pm South Africa v Australia; 4pm England v New Zealand
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga - 5.30pm Schalke v RB Leipzig; 7.30pm Bayern Munich v Cologne
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 7.45pm Lazio v AC Milan
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - EFL Cup Semi-final – 8pm Southampton v Newcastle Utd

WEDNESDAY (Jan 25th)

• TENNIS - Eurosport, midnight-11.45am Australian Open
• HOCKEY - BT Sport 1 - Men’s World Cup Quarter-finals - 11am England v Germany; 1.30pm Netherlands v Korea
• SNOOKER - Eurosport 2, 12.45pm-5pm, 6.45pm-11pm Shoot-out
• NETBALL - Sky Sports Arena – Quad Series - 2pm 3rd Place Play-off; 4pm Final
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-midnight Farmers Insurance Open
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga - 5.30pm Mainz v Borussia Dortmund; 7.30pm Werder Bremen v Union Berlin
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - EFL Semi-final - 8pm Nottingham Forest v Man Utd
• SOCCER - ITV4, 10.30pm-11.30pm EFL highlights

THURSDAY (Jan 26th)

• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 4am-1.30pm Dubai Desert Classic
• TENNIS - Eurosport 1, 8am-12.45pm Australian Open
• SNOOKER - Eurosport 2, 12.45pm-5pm, 6.45pm-11pm Shoot-out
• HORSE RACING - RTE 2, 1.30pm-3.50pm Gowran Park
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-midnight Farmers Insurance Open

FRIDAY (Jan 27th)

• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 0.30am Knicks @ Celtics; 3am Mavericks @ Suns
• TENNIS - Eurosport 1, 1am-6.45am, 8am-11.45am Australian Open
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 4am-1.30pm Dubai Desert Classic
• CRICKET - Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am - 1st ODI South Africa v England
• HOCKEY - BT Sport 1 - Men’s World Cup Semi-finals - 11am Australia v Germany; 1.30pm Belgium v Netherlands
• SNOOKER - Eurosport 2, 12.45pm-5pm, 6.45pm-11pm Shoot-out
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5.30pm-1am Farmers Insurance Open
• SOCCER - BT Sport 3 – Serie A - 5.30pm Bologna v Spezia; 7.45pm Lecce v Salernitana
• DARTS - ITV4, 7pm-11pm The Masters
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga - 7.30pm RB Leipzig v Stuttgart
• RUGBY - RTE 2, BBC 2 & Premier Sports 2 - URC - 7.35pm Ulster v Stormers
• RUGBY - BT Sport 1 - Premiership - 7.45pm Sale v Bath
• SOCCER - UTV & Premier Sports 1 - FA Cup, 4th Round - 8pm Man City v Arsenal
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 – Ligue 1 - 8pm Lorient v Rennes
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV – La Liga - 8pm Almeria v Espanyol

SATURDAY (Jan 28th)

• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 4am-1pm Dubai Desert Classic
• TENNIS - Eurosport 1, 8am-1.15pm Australian Open (Women’s Singles Final & Men’s Doubles Final)
• MOTOR - Sky Sports F1 from 11am ROC Nations Cup
• GAA - TG4 - Women’s Football League - 12.15pm Mayo v Kerry
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – League 1 - 12.30pm Charlton v Bolton
• SOCCER - Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup - 12.30pm Walsall v Leicester; 3pm Fulham v Sunderland
• DARTS - ITV4, 12.45pm-5pm; ITV3, 7pm-11pm The Masters
• SNOOKER - Eurosport 2, 12.45pm-5pm, 6.45pm-11pm Shoot-out
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV – La Liga - 1pm Cádiz v Mallorca; 3.15pm Girona v Barcelona; 5.30pm Sevilla v Elche; 8pm Getafe v Real Betis
• HORSE RACING - UTV, 1.30pm-4pm Cheltenham
• RUGBY - BT Sport 2 – Premiership - 2pm Leicester v Northampton; 4.30pm Exeter v Gloucester
• RUGBY - TG4 & Premier Sports 2 – URC - 2.30pm Benetton v Munster
• GAA - TG4 – Football League - 5pm Dublin v Kildare
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 from 5pm - Serie A - Joined Cremonese v Inter Milan
• RUGBY - RTE 2 & Premier Sports 2 – URC - 5.05pm Leinster v Cardiff
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga - 5.30pm Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5.30pm-1am Farmers Insurance Open
• SOCCER - Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup - 6pm Preston NE v Tottenham
• BOXING - BT Sport 1 from 7pm Artur Beterbiev v Anthony Yarde
• GAA - RTE 2 – Football League - 7.30pm Mayo v Galway
• RUGBY - TG4 & Premier Sports 2 – URC - 7.35pm Connacht v Lions
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 – Serie A - 7.45pm Atalanta v Sampdoria
• SOCCER - Premier Sports 1 & ITV4 - FA Cup – 8pm Man Utd v Reading
• SOCCER - BT Sport 3 – Ligue 1 - 8pm Marseille v Monaco
• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 8pm Nuggets @ 76ers; 10.30pm Knicks @ Nets
• SOCCER - BBC 1, 10.50pm-0.10am Match of the Day

SUNDAY (Jan 29th)

• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 1.30am Lakers @ Celtics
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 4am-1pm Dubai Desert Classic
• TENNIS - Eurosport 1, 4am-6am, 8am-12.15pm Australian Open (Women’s Doubles Final & Men’s Singles Final)
• BADMINTON - BT Sport 3 from 6am Indonesia Open Finals
• CRICKET - Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am - 2nd ODI South Africa v England
• HOCKEY - BT Sport 4 - Men’s World Cup - 11am Third place: Netherlands v Australia; 1.30pm Final: Belgium v Germany
• MOTOR - Sky Sports F1 from 11am Race of Champions
• SOCCER BT Sport 1 – Serie A - 11.30am AC Milan v Sassuolo
• SOCCER BT Sport 3 – Ligue 1 - Noon Nice v Lille; 2pm Auxerre v Montpellier; 4pm Ajaccio v Lyon
• DARTS - ITV4, 12.45pm-5pm, 7pm-11pm The Masters
• SOCCER - LaLigaTV & Premier Sports – La Liga - 1pm Real Valladolid v Valencia; 3.15pm Osasuna v Atlético Madrid; 5.30pm Celta Vigo v Athletic Bilbao; 8pm Real Madrid v Real Sociedad
• SOCCER - UTV & Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup - 1.30pm Brighton v Liverpool
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership - 1.30pm Livingston v Hearts; 4pm Dundee Utd v Celtic
• GAA - TG4 – Football League - 2pm Donegal v Kerry; Deferred Roscommon v Tyrone and Cork v Meath
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 – Serie A - 2pm Juventus v Monza; 5pm Lazio v Fiorentina
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga - 2.30pm Schalke 04 v Cologne; 4.30pm Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund
• RUGBY - BT Sport 1 – Premiership - 3pm London Irish v Harlequins
• SOCCER - BBC 1 & Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup - 4.30pm Wrexham v Sheffield Utd
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 – Ligue 1 - 7.45pm PSG v Reims
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 – Serie A - 7.45pm Napoli v Roma
• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 6pm Heat @ Hornets
• NFL - Sky Sports NFL - Conference Championships - 8pm San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles; 11.30pm Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs
• RUGBY - Premier Sports 2 – Top 14 - 8.05pm Toulouse v Montpellier
• GAA - RTE 2, 9.30pm-11pm League Sunday
• SOCCER - BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.30pm Match of the Day
• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 11pm Pacers @ Grizzlies