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A year in sport: what's on each month

If you follow more than one sport, there is no real off-season. As one league finishes, another starts, and the big one-off events fill in the gaps. This guide goes month by month through the regular highlights across the major sports, so you know roughly what's coming and when.

It describes usual timing, not exact dates. Most events keep to the same part of the calendar each year, but dates shift, so check the official schedule before you plan around anything.

The short version

  • January to March: NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, the Australian Open, the Six Nations, March Madness and the start of the Formula 1 season.
  • April to June: the Masters, the Boston and London marathons, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the Champions League final, the French Open and the Indianapolis 500.
  • July and August: Wimbledon, the Tour de France, the Open Championship and the start of the European soccer season.
  • September to December: the NFL season, the US Open tennis finals, the Ryder Cup in odd-numbered years, the World Series, the New York City Marathon and the Formula 1 finale.
  • Olympics, World Cups and some other big events run on two- or four-year cycles, so it helps to know which year they fall in.

January

  • NFL playoffs run through the month, from wild card weekend to the conference championship games.
  • College football's national championship game is played in January.
  • The Australian Open, the first tennis Grand Slam of the year, takes up the second half of the month.
  • The PDC World Darts Championship finishes in the first days of January.
  • The Dakar Rally runs through the first half of the month.
  • The NBA and NHL are in midseason, and soccer's January transfer window is open in Europe.

February

  • The Super Bowl is played on the second Sunday of February.
  • Rugby's Six Nations starts in early February and runs to mid-March.
  • The Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest race, opens the season in mid-February.
  • NBA All-Star Weekend comes in mid-February.
  • MLB spring training begins.
  • In some years, the Winter Olympics. The 2026 Games were held in Milan and Cortina in February.

March

  • March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournaments, start in mid-March and run into early April.
  • Formula 1 starts its season, most recently in Australia.
  • The Six Nations finishes in mid-March.
  • Horse racing's Cheltenham Festival takes place in mid-March.
  • Tennis has back-to-back big events at Indian Wells and Miami.
  • Golf's Players Championship is played.
  • The Tokyo Marathon, the year's first World Marathon Major, runs in late February or early March.
  • MLB Opening Day is in late March, and cricket's IPL begins around the same time.

April

  • The Masters, golf's first men's major, is played in the second week of the month.
  • The Boston Marathon runs on the third Monday of April and the London Marathon later in the month.
  • The men's and women's Final Fours finish college basketball's season early in the month.
  • The NBA play-in and the NBA and NHL playoffs start in mid-to-late April.
  • The NFL Draft is held late in the month.
  • The Grand National runs at Aintree in early or mid-April.
  • The World Snooker Championship starts in the second half of April and finishes in early May.
  • Cycling's cobbled classics, including the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, are raced.

May

  • The Kentucky Derby runs on the first Saturday of May.
  • The PGA Championship, golf's second men's major, is played.
  • The Giro d'Italia, cycling's first Grand Tour of the year, runs through May.
  • The Indianapolis 500 is held on Memorial Day weekend.
  • European soccer seasons end, with domestic cup finals and the Champions League final in late May or early June.
  • The French Open starts in late May.
  • The IPL reaches its playoffs and final in late May or early June.
  • The WNBA season starts.

June

  • The NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final decide basketball and hockey's champions.
  • The U.S. Open golf championship usually finishes on Father's Day.
  • The French Open finals are played in the first part of the month.
  • The 24 Hours of Le Mans and Royal Ascot take place in mid-June.
  • The NBA and NHL drafts are held late in the month.
  • Wimbledon starts at the end of June or the start of July.
  • In even-numbered years, soccer has a summer tournament: the World Cup (most recently June and July 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico) or the European Championship.

July

  • Wimbledon finishes in mid-July.
  • The Tour de France runs for most of the month, with the Tour de France Femmes following in late July or August.
  • The Open Championship, golf's last men's major of the year, is played in mid-July.
  • MLB's All-Star Game is held in mid-July.
  • Gaelic games' All-Ireland hurling and football finals take place.
  • In some years, the Summer Olympics, next in Los Angeles in July 2028.

August

  • European soccer seasons start, with the Premier League starting in mid-August.
  • The NFL preseason begins, and college football kicks off in the last week or so of the month.
  • The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs decide the season-long title.
  • The AIG Women's Open, the last of the women's golf majors, is played in late July or August.
  • The Vuelta a España, cycling's third Grand Tour, starts in late August.
  • The Sydney Marathon runs in late August.
  • The US Open tennis tournament starts in the last week of the month.

September

  • The NFL regular season starts on the Thursday after Labor Day.
  • The US Open tennis finals are played in early September.
  • The Ryder Cup is played in September in odd-numbered years. In even-numbered years, golf has the Presidents Cup and the women's Solheim Cup.
  • The Berlin Marathon runs in late September.
  • The AFL Grand Final decides Australian football's season in late September.
  • Cycling's road world championships are held.
  • The Champions League begins its league phase, and MLB's regular season ends with the races for playoff places.

October

  • MLB's postseason fills the month, with the World Series in late October.
  • The NHL starts its season early in the month and the NBA late in the month.
  • The Chicago Marathon runs, usually on the second Sunday.
  • The Ironman World Championship is held in Kona, Hawaii.
  • The NRL Grand Final decides Australian rugby league's season in early October.
  • The WNBA Finals are played.
  • The Breeders' Cup runs in late October or early November.

November

  • The New York City Marathon runs on the first Sunday of November.
  • Tennis finishes its season with the WTA Finals, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals.
  • The Melbourne Cup is run on the first Tuesday of the month.
  • Rugby's November internationals are played in Europe. In even-numbered years they form the second half of the new Nations Championship, with finals at the end of the month.
  • Formula 1 heads into its final rounds.
  • The NASCAR season finishes with its championship race.
  • College basketball begins, and the NFL plays its Thanksgiving games.

December

  • Formula 1's final race is held in early December.
  • MLS Cup is played in early December.
  • College football has its conference championship games, the first round of the College Football Playoff and the start of bowl season.
  • The PDC World Darts Championship starts in mid-December.
  • December 26 brings the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and, by tradition, Premier League games.
  • The NFL and the NBA usually play on Christmas Day.

Events that don't come every year

  • FIFA Women's World Cup: Brazil, June 24 to July 25, 2027.
  • America's Cup: Naples, Italy, July 2027.
  • Ryder Cup: Adare Manor, Ireland, September 2027.
  • Rugby World Cup: Australia, October 1 to November 13, 2027.
  • Cricket World Cup: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, October and November 2027.
  • European Championship: United Kingdom and Ireland, June 9 to July 9, 2028.
  • Summer Olympics: Los Angeles, July 14 to 30, 2028, with the Paralympics in August.
  • Winter Olympics: the French Alps, in 2030.

Frequently asked questions

Which months are the busiest in sport?

Late spring and early fall. From April to June, the NBA and NHL playoffs overlap with golf majors, the French Open and the end of the European soccer season. In September and October, the NFL, MLB's postseason and the start of the NBA and NHL seasons all overlap.

Is there a quiet time of year?

The days around MLB's All-Star break in mid-July are often described as the quietest stretch of the North American sports year. Elsewhere, July is busy, with Wimbledon, the Tour de France and the Open Championship.

Do these events always happen in the same month?

Most do, but not all. The PGA Championship moved from August to May in 2019, and the 2022 men's World Cup was played in November and December. Always check the current year's dates.

Keeping track with Get Your Sports Here

A calendar tells you what's coming. A daily briefing tells you what happened and what's next for the sports you follow, and the site shows the schedule for everything you pick. If you follow several sports at once, see how to follow multiple sports without the noise.