We come to you today with news that the Australian Open is officially launching a line of NFTs and a metaverse world in the lead-up to the international tennis event. Unlike a lot of sporting events, the Australian Open has never been one to shy away from innovative tech.
In 2020, the event hosted the Fortnite Summer Smash, an esports event in its own right with a $100,000 prize pool.
Well, in the year of our lord 2022, the Australian Open has decided NFTs are the new Fortnite. It’s a world-first NFT metaverse project, with 6,776 “Art Ball NFTs” set to be minted on January 13 and linked to live matches.
Additionally, Art Balls will be linked to a designated plot on the tennis court surface. Surfaces that result in the winning shot of any of the over 400 AO matches occurring during the event will reflect this by including airdropping winning footage, limited edition wearables and merch.
When one of the 11 championship points lands on a plot, the NFT owner of that plot can claim and receive the championship point tennis ball from the match, complete with a specially handcrafted case.
“The court plot tied to the NFT will be randomly allocated and revealed when the balls are minted, meaning a buyer can’t choose a specific position on-court,” says Adam De Cata, the director of Run It Wild.
“With this next wave of technology, global tennis fans will have the opportunity to be part of the 2022 Australian Open in a way never before available,” says Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director.
“The AO has always been seen as one of the most innovative sporting events in the world and this project is just another example of our team pushing the boundaries to provide our fans with better access and engagement with the AO.”
This project isn’t just limited to NFTs of the balls at the Australian Open, but it also includes 169 NFTs from the AO Artist Series, featuring art from local and international artists.
And it doesn’t end with NFTs, no sir. The Australian Open is also operating a metaverse world called AO Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform allowing tennis fans to explore the AO.
At this virtual AO, you’ll be able to interact with grand slam players and other tennis fans, view AO content and complete challenges. What any of that actually means, we’ll have to wait and see.
“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,” says Ridley Plummer, Tennis Australia’s project manager.
You can access everything you need to know about the AO Metaverse via its Twitter and its official Discord server. It has become the home of many a crypto bro.
Anyway, as you were. If you’re desperate to spend money, I just so happen to be selling a tennis ball for $750. I can assure you it’s very fungible.
I can’t believe the Novak Djokovic stuff isn’t the most ridiculous thing about the Australian Open this year.