Australian Open 2024 Day 3 Order of play: Schedule and how to watch Emma Raducanu, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz begin their Australian Open campaigns with tricky first-round ties on a stacked day three, which includes Emma Raducanu’s Grand Slam return after injury.

World No. 1 Swiatek was drawn against one of the toughest possible opponents to begin her challenge, as she will take on 2020 champion Sofia Kenin, who is ranked 41st in the world and narrowly missed out on being seeded.

Alcaraz takes on experienced Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while Holger Rune, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune also begin their campaigns.

Raducanu marks her return to majors after operations on both her wrists and an ankle as she faces former quarter-finalist Shelby Rogers, with four other British players also in action.

Cameron Norrie faces Juan Pablo Varillas, Dan Evans has a tough tie with Lorenzo Sonego, Jack Draper aims to follow up his run to the Adelaide International final with another win against Marcos Giron, while Katie Boulter plays Yue Yuan.

Eurosport is home to round-the-clock coverage from Melbourne, which begins on Sunday at 01:00 UK time on Eurosport 1 and 04:30 on Eurosport 2.

All the action can also be streamed on discovery+ across a range of devices.

At the age of 37, Richard Gasquet’s best days are probably behind him – but Carlos Alcaraz will have hoped for an easier first-round assignment.

Alcaraz was absent from Melbourne Park last year due to injury and is looking to go beyond the third round at the Grand Slam for the first time.

Gasquet, who’s now ranked No. 131 in the world rankings, could cause his younger opponent plenty of problems, having reached semi-finals of majors in the past.

First-round matches can sometimes be a doddle for the top-ranked players – but world No. 1 Iga Swiatek could hardly have been given a trickier opponent than Sofia Kenin, a player she beat in the 2020 French Open final.

The Russian-born American won the Australian Open in 2020, before form and injury disrupted her progression. Now the 25-year-old is working her way back up the rankings and narrowly missed out on being seeded in Melbourne.

Swiatek looks in exceptional form though and she won all five of her singles matches while playing for Poland at the United Cup, dropping just one set against Caroline Garcia.

There have been some doubts about her fitness after pulling out of exhibition and charity matches, but she has also had some long training sessions in Melbourne ahead of her first-round tie with Shelby Rogers – a player she thrashed 6-2 6-1 on her way to winning the 2021 US Open.

Raducanu, who is down at No. 296 in the world, sneaked into the main draw and avoided qualifying through her pre-injury protected ranking – as enough players above her pulled out injured.

British No. 1 Cameron Norrie also heads into the first Grand Slam of the year with injury concerns, having withdrawn from a match in Auckland, though that was thought to be precautionary, and he opens against Juan Pablo Varillas.

Continuing the theme, Dan Evans has only just returned from a calf problem and he has a tough draw against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in a match scheduled last on Court 3, while Jack Draper, who has struggled with injuries in the past, looks in great shape ahead of his opener.

Katie Boulter, who has only reached the second round once in Melbourne, takes on China’s Yue Yuan third on Court 7, with play starting at midnight UK time.

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina can also count herself unlucky, having been drawn against two-time Grand Slam finalist Karolina Pliskova – who also missed out on being seeded.

They open the night session on Rod Laver Arena, where Holger Rune begins his campaign against Yoshihito Nishioka.

Among the other highlights, Alexander Zverev has an all-German encounter with Dominik Koepfer, 11th seed Casper Ruud plays Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Jessica Pegula faces Rebecca Marino, and Victoria Azarenka takes on Camila Giorgi.

• Iga Swiatek [1] v Sofia Kenin
• Holger Rune [8] v Yoshihito Nishioka

Night session (from 08:00)

• Elena Rybakina [3] v Karolina Pliskova
• Richard Gasquet v Carlos Alcaraz [2]

• Albert Ramos-Vinolas v Casper Ruud [11]
• Camila Giorgi v Victoria Azarenka [18]

Night session (from 08:00)

• Alexander Zverev [6] v Dominik Koepfer
• Rebecca Marino v Jessica Pegula [5]

• Sloane Stephens v Olivia Gadecki
• Grigor Dimitrov [13] v Marton Fucsovics

Night session (from 05:00)

• Sebastian Ofner v Thanasi Kokkinakis
• Petra Martic v Ajla Tomljanovic

• Peyton Stearns v Daria Kasatkina [14]
• Max Purcell v Mate Valkusz
• Tommy Paul [14] v Gregoire Barrere
• Qinwen Zheng [12] v Ashlyn Krueger

• Cameron Norrie [19] v Juan Pablo Varillas
• Danielle Collins v Angelique Kerber
• Mackenzie McDonald v Juncheng Shang
• Emma Raducanu v Shelby Rogers