Tennis pros, celebrities and amateurs: How did the Australian Open’s 1-Point Slam’s unfold?
On Wednesday night, a sold-out crowd packed Rod Laver Arena to watch the Australian Open’s “1-Point Slam” competition. Tennis pros, including No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and women’s no.2 Iga Swiatek, competed against community champions and wildcards like AFL star Bailey Smith, TV host andy Lee, and Mandarin pop star Jay Chou for a cool $1 million.
The concept was straightforward and brutal. Each “match” was decided by a single point. Win the point and advance; lose it and you’re out. One misplaced step, messy swing, or misjudged bounce could mean kissing the million-dollar jackpot goodbye.
A “rock, paper, scissors” contest persistent who served, but this caused confusion for many players – did you shoot on count three or four?
The million-dollar prize was wheeled out on court at the start of the slam and left in the corner. The meter-high stack of green bills elicited gasps from the crowd, then laughter when the camera panned to show Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley’s face on it.
There was an early upset in the first round after a nervous Thomas Van Harran succumbed to a double fault, allowing TV personality Karl Stefanovic to cruise through.
Other celebrity entries, like comedian Andy Lee, employed some sneaky mind games. He stalled before his serve by taking off his jacket and asking for numerous balls.The psychological warfare proved successful, and Lee won the point over Ashleigh Simes.
Other players preferred to interact with the crowd. Fan-favorite Nick Kyrgios ran around the court before his match. Kyrgios won the point over Steve Yarwood and then celebrated like he’d won Wimbledon.
“This might be the biggest match of my career,” joked Kyrgios.
Bailey Smith’s AFL talents unluckily didn’t translate to the tennis court, and the Geelong star lost to Jordan Smith.
The next few rounds saw tennis pros Alexander Bublik, Naomi Osaka, jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev effortlessly carve through the field of celebrities and community champions.
However, the one-point do-or-die pressure impacted the professionals, with Coco Gauff and Félix auger-Aliassime both losing their matches.
Garland performed brilliantly throughout the night, defeating men’s no.3 Alexander Zverev after a lengthy rally.
Joanna Garland Credit: Getty Images
The 24-year-old Taiwanese player later defeated Kyrgios, who responded with a comical racquet smash and a smile. Garland then defeated Sakkari and Donna Vekic, proceeding to the final.
The Australian Open’s 1-Point Slam was ultimately a light-hearted evening defined by good sportsmanship, perhaps best summed up by Garland herself.
“There are three winners tonight,” Garland told the crowd before playing in the final match. “Tennis, me and him [Smith].”
Follow our live australian Open blog each day from January 18 for results, news, analysis and interviews.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
