Amateur tennis player defeats Jannik Sinner, claiming a 1 million dollar prize

This massive amount has the potential to change the life of a lesser-known amateur player such as Jordan Smith.

The 1 Point Slam tournament – the kickoff event for Australian Open 2026 is becoming the focal point of the tennis world, continuously producing unbelievable scenarios, highlighted by the amateur Jordan Smith’s sensational victory over top stars including Jannik Sinner.

Launched last year, the 1 Point Slam initially served as a trial event with a limited number of amateurs and mostly lower-ranked Australian professionals. At that time, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz were the few high-level players participating. However, this season the event expanded significantly, featuring a main draw of 64 players and 16 first-round byes reserved for seeded professionals.

The unique feature of the tournament is the "one point decides all" format. Players compete in a single rally to determine the winner, following a coin toss to decide serve or receive. Professionals get only one serve, while amateurs enjoy the advantage of two serves. The champion takes home 1 million Australian dollars (approximately 17.5 billion VND), and the best amateur receives a matcha green Kia EV3 GT-Line.

The real excitement erupted from round 2 as amateurs caused continuous upsets. Jordan Smith shocked everyone by defeating many professionals, climaxing with wins over Alexander Zverev and notably Jannik Sinner – the two-time Australian Open champion – after an unbelievable double fault from the Italian star.

Not only Sinner, but several other ATP stars including Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev were also eliminated, showcasing the harsh and unpredictable nature of this special format. On the women's side, world No. 117 Joanna Garland emerged as a sensation by knocking out several strong opponents to reach the final.

The world No. 2 defeated by a local amateur!

Jordan Smith’s upset is exactly what the 1 Point Slam promises, powered by @kiaaustralia pic.twitter.com/g7PHNf3G4G

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2026

Jannik Sinner’s double fault allowed amateur Jordan Smith to advance and eventually win the 1 Point Slam

The final was a dream match between amateur Jordan Smith and Joanna Garland. At the critical moment, Garland missed a backhand, handing Smith the overall victory. The amateur officially secured the 1 million Australian dollar prize, an amount that could entirely change his life.

The first Grand Slam of the year – Australian Open 2026 – will officially begin on January 18. The final qualifying matches conclude on January 15.