Australian Open 2026: Who is Jordan Smith? The 1 Point Slam winner who beat Jannik Sinner

In the space of just a couple of points, Jordan Smith went from a relative unknown to a champion on centre court at a grand slam.

The 1 Point Slam during the Australian Open pitted an array of folks against one another, from tennis legends to random Australian celebrities.

Smith ran the gamut on his way to the $1 million prize on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.

"It has not sunk in, waking up to just an unbelievable feeling," he told ABC News Breakfast.

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"Overwhelmed and amazed, just so surreal. It was just amazing to be on court last night."

In a field of 48, Smith started his namesake, Geelong AFL star Bailey Smith, who missed a forehand return. Then came a brilliant rally with women's world number 86 Laura Pigossi, with Smith chancing his arm and coming up trumps when Pigossi's backhand volley sailed long.

That sent the 29-year-old into a nerve-wracking match-up with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Asked if he had any advice for his outmatched opponent, Sinner joked: "Maybe he doesn't need advice if I double fault", although Smith said he did seek some advice from the pros on the sideline.

"They're very friendly and very down to earth," he said.

"They helped me out. I asked a few of them for advice and it was pretty cool to just be around them and enjoy it."

But no advice was required as the Italian superstar hit the net cord with his one and only serve to end the match-up before it truly began, with world number one Carlos Alcaraz courtside to mock Sinner's tight attempt.

Next up was the runner-up from the last two women's grand slam singles finals, world number four Amanda Anisimiova, who didn't get her forehand return back into play after a taxing point to take down Daniil Medvedev.

Men's world number 71 Pedro Martinez, fresh off lifting the trophy at the Bengaluru Challenger event in India earlier this month, was next and sprayed a backhand long after a tentative rally, sending Smith into the final.

On the other side of the draw, women's world number 117 Joanna Garland had rolled past men's major runner-ups Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev, plus Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekić, en route to the decider.

Garland, who just won the WTA Canberra International last week, said the prize money could help fund her on the tour for a couple of years

She chose to serve but sent her next backhand wide, handing the cash to Smith.

Smith was speechless on court immediately after the fact, but did say he planned to use the money to buy a house with his partner Jess, who was up in the stands at Melbourne Park.

She was sitting alongside Smith's parents, Neil and Michelle, who started Smith's love affair with tennis when he was just three.

For more than 30 years they have run the Castle Hill Tennis Academy in Sydney's north-west.

Neil coached Jordan, the youngest of the three, when he won five national junior titles (two singles and three doubles) from 2008 to 2012 before spending a year on the US college scene at Gonzaga on an athletic scholarship in 2015-16.

Homesickness, COVID and the financial difficulties of being a lower-ranked player on tour — Smith reached a career-high singles ranking of 1,141 in 2023 — led him back to Castle Hill to coach alongside his dad and brothers Blake and Cameron.

Smith made it through last month's qualifiers at the North Shore Open to be crowned the NSW state champion.

Smith said his whole family was stunned he made it through the high-pressure tournament. And so was he.

"I tried to keep it pretty level the whole time, just smile," he said.

"I was going into it thinking I was gonna win one point and it just kept happening and kept getting the points.

"[I was] just trying to smile as much as I can and just enjoy the moment."

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