Almost 10,000 images of tennis balls plunge up to 90% in value as Australian Open appears to ditch NFTs

Nearly 10,000 images of balls have plunged up to 90% in value after Tennis Australia appears to have walked away from its non-fungible token (NFT) program three years after it began selling the artworks to punters.

Launched at the peak of hype around NFTs, the Australian Open’s Artball program allowed keen fanatics to buy 6,776 ball artworks sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are linked to 19cm x 19cm plots on the court at Melbourne Park. In 2023, the Open had an additional 2,454 NFTs on offer.

The balls in 2022 were priced at 0.067 in the ethereum cryptocurrency – about $278 at the time of minting on 22 January 2022 – and all NFTs were sold. In 2023, the balls were minted starting at 0.23ETH each – about $446 at the time.

Due to the increased value of ethereum against the Australian dollar, today those NFTs would be worth $338 and $1,162, had they retained their value.

View image in fullscreen An Australian Open Artball work. Photograph: AO Artball 2023 artwork created as part of the 2023 NFT launch.

However, customers left holding the NFT balls might have noticed a significant drop in the value of their NFT asset. The current floor price for the balls on OpenSea is 0.005ETH, equating to roughly $25. Recent NFT sales of the balls have ranged from 0.003ETH (A$15) up to 0.0175ETH (A$89) – all significantly lower than the prices at which they were minted.

Tennis Australia marketed the NFT program as similar to a frequent flyers program, offering a Discord channel for NFT holders, ground passes for finals weeks and behind-the-scenes access, as well as passes to matches the following year if the portion of the court held in the NFT was linked to the match point plot on the court.

In 2024, the Australian Open appeared not to mint any new NFTs but allowed existing owners to redeem ground passes to finals week. In 2025, there is no mention of the program from the Australian Open or any offer of redeeming passes, and sites for the Artball program remain dormant. The Discord server has been shut down.

Tennis Australia did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In 2023, when the crypto market was volatile and the value of the NFTs had fallen by nearly $100, Ridley Plummer, then Tennis Australia’s senior manager of metaverse, NFTs, web3 and cryptocurrency defended the decision to remain in the NFT business.

View image in fullscreen Recent NFT sales of the balls have ranged from 0.003ETH (A$15) up to 0.0175ETH (A$89). Photograph: AO Artball 2023 artwork created as part of the 2023 NFT launch.

“We shouldn’t just put down our tools and walk away because the market’s having its challenges,” he said. “There’s obviously a ton of external factors that come into play when you’re exploring a new technology like web3 and NFTs, and when you’re an innovative company like Tennis Australia and the AO there’s obviously challenges and rewards that come with that as well.”

Plummer’s title, according to Tennis Australia, is now senior manager of digital sales and metaverse.

The Australian Open has since turned its attention to other digital ventures, including launching a way for users to play tennis with simulated commentary in Roblox, and a challenge for young students to build the Australian Open in Minecraft.

The Age reported on Monday the Australian Open was also using facial recognition technology at the tournament site to “enhance security and patron safety”. It comes despite the Australian privacy commissioner ruling last year that Bunnings had breached customer privacy in using facial recognition technology in stores.

Several sporting venues, including the MCG, the SCG and Qudos Bank Arena have all been reported to have used facial recognition technology in their venues, but none have responded to Guardian Australia requests on whether they continue to use such technology in light of the Bunnings ruling.

Click here to read article