Sports Technology

The Australian Open has joined the metaverse - the network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection - launching 6,776 tournament-branded Art Ball NFTs, offering viewers the opportunity to purchase a piece of an Australian Open tennis court surface.

The initiative will also see the tournament offer an advanced innovative experience for fans, through a virtual hosting of the Australian Open in ‘Decentraland’, a 3D virtual reality platform, allowing any tennis fan access to explore the event, wherever they are in the world.

Announcing the innovation, Tennis Australia Chief Commercial Officer, Cedric Cornelis stated “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.

“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.”

As part of the metaverse project the Australian Open Art Ball NFTs will be minted for the almost one billion global viewers that the tournament attracts, making this a monumental merchandise opportunity.

Each 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 Australian Open. 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 Australian Open matches.

Adam De Cata, Director of Run It Wild, the company behind the data, advised “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.”

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 Australian Open 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 Art Balls also include over 160 NFTs from the Australian Open Artist Series including designs from local and international artists, specifically created for the tournament.

Unprecedented Access
In a significant metaverse move, the Australian Open will launch the first truly decentralised tennis experience in Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform, allowing any tennis fan access to explore the Australian Open precinct online 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.

Tennis Australia NFT and Metaverse Project Manager Ridley Plummer added “we want the Australian Open 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.

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

The Australian Open teamed up with blockchain studio and metaverse specialists, Run it Wild, along with Web3 advisory and strategists Rarer Things to create AO Art Ball NFT and AO Decentraland blurring art, sport and technology.

Images: The Australian Open's Art Ball NFTs (top), electronic line calling technology enabled NFTs, allowing fans to own the moment in real-time (middle) and Decentraland at Melbourne Park (below). Credit: Australian Open.

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