The US Open 2026 runs from August 30 to September 13 at Flushing Meadows, with Fan Week and qualifying starting August 23. If your usual broadcaster blacks out matches, geo-restricts streams, or simply isn’t available because you’re traveling, a VPN is the fix. Here’s what actually works.
Why you need a VPN for the US Open
Tennis broadcasting rights are split by country, sometimes by tournament round. ESPN holds US rights, Eurosport and other regional players carry it across Europe, and rights holders change from year to year in some markets. If you’re outside the country whose broadcaster you’re subscribed to, or your local coverage only shows select courts, you’ll hit a geo-block the moment you try to stream.
A VPN routes your connection through a server in the country where you have legitimate access, whether that’s a US-based service, your home country’s broadcaster, or a channel with wider coverage. Connect, and the block disappears.
Best VPNs for the US Open in 2026
| VPN | Overall score | Speed | Streaming score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 4.63/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | Most reliable access, best for 4K |
| ProtonVPN | 4.24/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | Privacy plus solid streaming |
| Surfshark | 4.09/5 | 5/5 | 4.5/5 | Unlimited devices, cheapest per month |
NordVPN: the most reliable pick
NordVPN scored a perfect 5/5 on both speed and streaming in our testing, and its large US server network makes it the safest bet for accessing ESPN or other US-based tennis coverage without interruption. NordVPN’s SmartPlay feature automatically routes you to the fastest working server, so you’re not manually testing connections five minutes before a match starts.
For live sport specifically, connection stability matters more than raw speed. A dropped connection mid-match is worse than a slightly slower one. NordVPN’s kill switch and consistently strong uptime across our tests make it the pick if you don’t want to think about the tech during the two weeks of the tournament.
ProtonVPN: privacy without a streaming downgrade
ProtonVPN scored 5/5 on speed and 4/5 on streaming, with the added benefit of Swiss jurisdiction and a fully independently audited no-logs policy. If you’d rather not hand a US broadcaster or a VPN provider more data than necessary while watching a tennis match, ProtonVPN is the more privacy-conscious choice without giving up meaningful streaming quality.
Surfshark: best if you’re covering a full household
Surfshark scored 4.5/5 on streaming and allows unlimited simultaneous device connections, which matters if the whole household wants to watch different courts on different screens. It’s also typically the cheapest of the three on a long-term plan.
Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.
How to watch the US Open with a VPN, step by step
Sign up for a VPN with strong US server coverage. Install the app on the device you’ll actually watch on: laptop, phone, or a streaming box if the VPN supports it. Connect to a US server if you’re using a US-based broadcaster, or your home country’s server if you’re traveling and want your usual coverage instead. Open the broadcaster’s app or website and log in as usual. If you hit a block, switch to a different server in the same country and refresh.
For smart TVs or streaming devices that don’t support VPN apps directly, configure the VPN at the router level. This covers every device on your network at once, which is worth setting up before the tournament starts rather than scrambling during the opening rounds.
What to watch out for during the tournament
Live sport puts unusual load on broadcaster servers and VPN networks alike during marquee matches. If you notice buffering during a high-profile match, try switching to a less crowded server in the same country rather than assuming your connection is the problem. Night session matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium, historically among the most-watched slots of the tournament, are exactly when server congestion is most likely.
If you’re traveling internationally during the US Open and want to keep watching your home broadcaster’s coverage rather than switching to whatever’s available locally, connect to a server in your home country before opening the stream. This also keeps your account activity looking consistent from the broadcaster’s perspective, which matters if the service in question is stricter about flagging logins from unusual locations.
Watching on the move: courts, sessions, and time zones
The US Open runs two match sessions most days, day and night, across multiple courts simultaneously, which means the match you actually want to watch isn’t always the one your default broadcaster puts on the main feed. Streaming through your subscribed broadcaster’s full platform, rather than relying on a single TV channel’s schedule, usually gives you access to outer-court coverage that a VPN doesn’t create on its own, it just needs the geographic block out of the way first.
If you’re watching from a time zone several hours off from New York, the night session matches will land in your early morning or midday. A VPN connection doesn’t affect this scheduling reality, but it does mean you’re not also fighting a geo-block on top of an inconvenient start time. Setting your VPN connection up the night before, rather than in the groggy few minutes before a match you set an alarm for, removes one more variable from an already early start.
A note on mobile streaming during the tournament
A meaningful share of US Open viewing now happens on phones and tablets, particularly for viewers checking scores or catching a set during a commute or a break. All three recommended providers, NordVPN, ProtonVPN, and Surfshark, offer mobile apps with the same server access as their desktop counterparts, so the setup described above works identically on a phone. The one practical difference: mobile data connections are more prone to brief drops than home Wi-Fi, so enabling your VPN app’s auto-reconnect setting is worth doing specifically for tournament viewing, so a subway tunnel or a dead spot doesn’t silently drop you back to a geo-blocked connection mid-match.
NordVPN is the best all-around pick for the US Open 2026, combining the largest US server network with consistent 5/5 streaming performance. ProtonVPN is the better choice if privacy matters as much as access. Surfshark wins on value if you're covering multiple devices across a household during the two-week tournament.
Keep reading: Best VPN for Wimbledon 2026: Watch Every Match Live and Best VPN for the Premier League in 2026.