AO Press Release, January 12, 2021

The Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam to enter the metaverse, with the first minting of AO Art Ball NFTs linked to live match data, giving people around the world a unique opportunity to own a piece of the AO.

The AO will also serve up an advanced innovative experience for fans, through a virtual hosting of the AO in Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform, allowing any tennis fan access to explore the AO, wherever they are in the world.

“The Australian Open prides itself on being one of the most innovative sports and entertainment events in the world, and we are delighted that through our expansion into the Metaverse and Decentraland, more fans can engage with our sport than ever before,” Chief Commercial Officer Cedric Cornelis said.

“We work closely with some of the world’s best developers to ensure we stay ahead of consumer trends and continue to expand into new sectors in ways never before seen in tennis.”

Electronic line calling technology enabled NFTs, allowing fans to own the moment in real-time

As part of the Metaverse project 6,776 AO Art Ball NFTs will be minted for the almost one billion global viewers the AO attracts, making this a monumental opportunity to forever own a piece of the AO 2022.

Each AO Art Ball’s metadata will be linked to a 19cm x 19cm plot of each tennis court surface. If the winning shot from any of the 400+ AO matches lands on that plot, the NFT metadata will be updated in real-time to highlight the match information while providing the owner with additional utility such as limited-edition wearables, AO merchandise, and other benefits in the future.

Combining real-time court data with NFTs has never been attempted before and will provide incredible ways for global tennis fans to engage as NFT holders in the AO. When one of the 11 championship points lands on a plot, the NFT owner of that plot can claim and receive the tennis ball used in the championship point, in a specially handcrafted case.

This first-of-its-kind NFT is made possible by official match and ball-tracking data from AO matches.

“The court plot tied to the NFT will be revealed when the balls are minted, meaning a buyer can’t choose a specific position on-court,” Run It Wild Director Adam De Cata said.

The AO Art Ball collection is made of generative art right down to the fuzz

This breakthrough collection is made up of generative art, the algorithmic combination of different colour schemes, patterns and textures, ensuring each AO Art Ball is individual in appearance, right down to the fuzz on the ball.

Within the collection is also 22 AO Legend designs handcrafted from historical AO artwork, including the “Serving Man” silhouette, first introduced in the 1997 Australian Open, has been revived and reinterpreted on an Art Ball canvas.

The AO Art Balls also include over 160 NFTs from the AO Artist Series including designs from local and international artists, specifically created for AO 2022.

AO Decentraland provides unprecedented access

In a major metaverse move, the AO will launch the first truly decentralised tennis experience in Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform, allowing any tennis fan access to explore the AO, wherever they are in the world.

Fans can now unite around their love of tennis virtually, and explore the AO precinct online in AO Decentraland for the duration of the tournament. They’ll be able to discover the precinct, complete challenges, view historic AO content, interact with players and other tennis fans, all from their laptops.

“We want the AO to be the world’s most accessible and inclusive sports and entertainment event, and with the unique challenges fans have faced getting to Melbourne we’ve fast-tracked our launch into the Metaverse,” Tennis Australia NFT and Metaverse Project Manager Ridley Plummer said.

“Taking the AO into the Metaverse is an important step to provide truly global access to our great event.”