Defending Australian Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will headline the popular AO 1 Point Slam alongside Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka next year as top professionals take on amateurs again for a million-dollar payday ahead of the Grand Slam.The event, part of the Australian Open's opening week, sees professionals and amateurs battle in a knockout contest where a game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' decides who serves or receives and one point is enough to send a player through.
At the Australian Open launch in Melbourne on Thursday, organisers said amateur players across the nation were competing in qualifying events at local clubs. It proved hugely popular among fans after its introduction at the 2025 tournament, with some of the amateurs toppling more fancied opponents, before Australian professional Omar Jasika pocketed the inaugural A$60,000 ($41,736) prize. This year, Sydney amateur Jordan Smith bagged A$1 million ($694,830) after beating Taiwan professional Joanna Garland in the final, having also downed Sinner and Amanda Anisimova earlier.
The best part of the 1 Point Slam, is not necessarily we have the world’s best players. And by the way, we do. We’ve already confirmed Alcaraz, Gauff, Osaka and Sinner for this event," Chief executive officer of Tennis Australia, Andrew Abdo, said. "We have thousands of competitors across Australia competing to make it to the 16 spots for the 1 Point Slam. This is where the elite and the amateur, the pro and the aspiring meet in a pretty fun and cool environment.," he added. The competition's 2027 champion will also receive a signature AO 1 Point Slam trophy crafted from Australian silver, organisers said. The final of the tournament takes place on January 13 at Rod Laver Arena before the Australian Open main draw runs from January 17 to 31.