AN amateur tennis player won one million Australian dollars in prize money – after he outfoxed Jannik Sinner in Melbourne.
Jordan Smith, the NSW State Champion, defeated world No117 Joanna Garland in the final of the 1 Point Slam in Australia.
The tournament saw professional stars, part-timers and celebs face each other across the same net on the Rod Laver Arena, days before the start of the 2026 Australian Open, in knockout competition.
Smith, from Castle Hill Tennis Academy in Sydney, could not believe it when Garland hit a backhand shot wide and he was the recipient of the mega cheque, which is equivalent to £500,000.
But to make the final, he had to eliminate Sinner, the reigning Wimbledon champion, in the one-point shootout.
And he also took out the world No4 Amanda Anisimova, the Wimbledon and US Open finalist.
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It was an incredible run and he is well rewarded for his efforts, albeit in an event where luck plays a huge amount.
The concept was nerve-shredding for all the pros involved and world No1 Carlos Alcaraz‘s attempt to hit a drop shot against Greek Maria Sakkari flopped and he was knocked out in the third round.
On his win, Smith said: “I don’t know anymore what is going on.
“Coming into this tonight, I was happy winning one point. I was so nervous.
“I enjoyed being out here. It was a great experience.”
When asked what he would spend his winnings on, he added: “I’m kind of speechless. I’ll definitely buy a house.
“Or maybe half a house… prices in Sydney are insane.”
Meanwhile, TNT Sports were forced to apologise as the 1 Point Slam was hit with technical difficulties.
The tennis extravaganza, involving superstars Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, on Melbourne Park was beamed around the world.
Yet the audio feed, which was produced by Aussie Open organisers, hit by gremlins in the middle of the three-hour show.
At one point, the noise was so bad that TNT bosses were forced to say sorry for the quality of the presentation.
In a statement which appeared on screen, they said: “We apologise for the poor sound quality and hope to correct the fault shortly.”
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