By Richard Pagliaro Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Image source: Australian Open Facebook
Tennis is a lifelong sport.
Winning a point revolutionizes Jordan Smith’s Life.
Smith, an amateur from Sydney, won A$1 million, equivalent to about $670,000 for winning the Australian Open single-point Grand Slam on Wednesday night. Smith defeated two-time defending AO champion Jannik Sinner in the final and won $50,000 for his local tennis club by winning.
Facing the WTA world No. 117 Joanna Garland, Smith, who won a huge backing from Australian fans as she reached the final by one point and $1 million, took to the court with a simple game plan.
“Great opportunity, just trying to have a good time,” Smith said. “Honestly, I just thought about it on the spot and ran with it.”
Garland won Rock, Paper, Scissors and chose the $1 million prize. That approach served Garland well throughout the tournament: She beat 2025 AO finalists Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Maria Sakkari and Donna Vekic by one point to reach the final.
As the drama unfolded and the crowd cheered, Garland spun and went all out on her first serve, hitting a backhand shot wide but wide.
Remarkably, Smith won the million-dollar championship check by one point. Watch the moment here:
It was a life-changing moment for Smith, who said he planned to use his earnings to buy a new house to share with his girlfriend.
“I couldn’t speak. It was unbelievable,” Smith said.
Exhibition activities are full of pits 22 professional players competed against 10 amateur players from across the country for a $1 million prize. Smith, who was ranked as high as 1141 in the worldBeating Laura Pigosi, Pedro Martinez, Wimbledon and US Open finalist Amanda Anisimova and Yannik Sinner, the world No. 2 was defeated when the Italian missed a serve.
Here’s how the Australian Open describes the event:
It works like a regular elimination draw, using “rock, paper, scissors” to decide who serves or receives the ball. The side that scores points wins the game and advances to the next round, while the one that loses points is eliminated. The winner of the final contest will take home a $1 million prize.
Qualifying matches will be held across Australia and at the AO during the opening week, with the finals taking place at Rod Laver Arena.
Several of tennis’s top stars were in attendance, and they looked blown away by Smith’s calm competitive spirit on his way to winning the biggest prize of his life.
Thanks to Garland for your elegant summary of a crazy and life-changing night in Melbourne Park.
“There were three winners. One was tennis and the others were me and Jordan,” Garland said.
