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The Australian Opals open their FIBA Women's World Cup campaign against Puerto Rico at 7:30pm AEST on Friday, September 4, 2026, live on ESPN from Berlin.

It is the best draw an Australian audience could have asked for.

All three group games tip at 7:30pm AEST, which puts every one of them in weeknight or weekend primetime rather than the small hours. Australian basketball fans do not often get that from a European tournament.

ESPN holds the Australian and New Zealand rights as official broadcast partner.

In Australia that means three ways in. ESPN is a channel on Foxtel, Kayo Sports and on Disney+, so a subscription to either carries the ESPN feed.

DAZN has it as well – listing the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup for live and on-demand streaming.

Courtside 1891 will more than likely be benched. FIBA blacks it out where a broadcast deal exists.

A word on the clock, because it is the thing most likely to trip you up.

If you see 5:30pm published anywhere, that is Perth. AWST is two hours behind the east coast, and both figures are correct for the same game.

FIBA's own game pages will confuse you further. Each one prints the tip-off twice.

The large unlabelled number at the top is rendered in the timezone of whoever is looking at it, so it changes from reader to reader. The line beneath it reading "Local Time: 11:30 AM (GMT+2)" is the time in the arena in Berlin, not the time where you are sitting.

Only ever trust a figure carrying an explicit offset.

Australia is drawn in Group C alongside Belgium, Puerto Rico and Turkiye.

Finish in the top two and the Opals go straight through to the quarter-finals. Finish third or fourth and there is a qualification playoff to survive first.

The tournament runs in Berlin from September 4 to September 13, 2026.

Set your alarm for 7:30pm.