An amateur tennis player from New South Wales has pulled off one of the most remarkable upsets in exhibition tennis history, walking away with A$1 million after toppling some of the sport’s biggest names.
Jordan Smith, a 29-year-old state champion, triumphed at the Australian Open’s One Point Slam on Wednesday evening, stunning a packed Rod Laver Arena crowd of 10,000 spectators.
The local hero’s incredible run included a victory over world number two Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending Australian Open champion who hadn’t lost at the Melbourne venue since 2023.
It’s the ultimate grassroots fairytale.
Jordan Smith was overwhelmed with emotion after becoming a millionaire
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TNTSPORTS
The tournament’s format was brilliantly simple yet utterly nerve-wracking.
Each match consisted of just a single point – win and you progress, lose and you’re heading home.
Here’s where it got really interesting for the amateurs: while any ATP or WTA-ranked professionals were limited to just one serve, the non-professionals received two attempts.
Rather than the traditional coin toss, players settled who would serve through a game of rock, paper, scissors.
The 48-player field featured 24 pros alongside state champions from across Australia, Melbourne qualifiers, and celebrity wildcards including Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.
A million dollars in a day… not bad going for an amateur player 💰😅
Here’s how Jordan Smith stunned the world’s elite to win the One Point Slam 🏆🔎 pic.twitter.com/oDdydcesFC
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 14, 2026
Smith’s journey to the million-dollar prize was nothing short of sensational.
His breakthrough moment came when Sinner, the Italian superstar, double faulted on his only serve attempt, sending the crowd into raptures.
The New South Wales champion then dispatched women’s world number four Amanda Anisimova before seeing off Spain’s Pedro Martinez to reach the final.
His opponent, Taiwan’s Joanna Garland, had enjoyed her own magical run, knocking out world number three Alexander Zverev and former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.
After winning rock, paper, scissors, Garland chose to serve – but Smith returned brilliantly and watched as her backhand sailed wide.
Smith had revealed his game plan before the tournament kicked off, keeping expectations refreshingly modest.
Jordan Smith defied the odds to win the million
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TNTSPORTS
“My strategy is to basically be a brick wall,” he said. “I’ll just make a lot of balls and hopefully they miss. If someone’s going to beat me, they’re going to have to hit a lot of tennis balls.”
That approach clearly paid dividends.
When asked about his prize money plans, the champion had a practical answer ready: “Partly buy a house. In Sydney, they’re pretty expensive.”
“Coming in tonight, I was just happy to win one point,” Smith admitted afterwards. “I was nervous, but I enjoyed being out here. Was a great experience.”
