In short
The Australian Open 2026 “One Point Slam” (second edition) at Rod Laver Arena—how the format worked, what went wrong in the live/TV production, and what it means for future events.
Guests (hosts)
David, Matt (and they also reference Catherine as a co-host/colleague in discussion).
Guest backgrounds
They are tennis media/podcast hosts covering the Australian Open in Melbourne Park; they attend matches in person and comment on player performance and event production.
Key claims
The concept (amateurs vs pros playing a single point) is “brilliant” and creates real nerves and stakes, but the in-stadium experience suffered from “faff” (long ad breaks, interviews, VTs) and the roof being closed. They argue stars are needed, but not celebrities who can’t play.
Notable examples
Jordan Smith (29, amateur coach from NSW) won $1m, beating Jannik Sinner, Amanda Anisimova, Pedro Martinez, and Joanna Garland. Garland’s standout backhand down the line vs Zverev; rock-paper-scissors serving strategy; Pedro Martinez’s “graceless” behavior; Jay Chou’s celebrity moment; roof closure and “Kia EV3” prizes.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOOverview of the One Point Slam Event
0:48 to 2:12
Discussion about the one point slam event and its high-profile nature.
“The event's second edition, although frankly in many ways it felt like an inaugural event tonight because it has been sexed up to the max, folks.”
Initial Reactions to the Event
2:12 to 3:02
Hosts share their initial experiences and ratings of the one point slam.
“with actually some serious stakes for the ones at the end who ended up in the final, which I loved.”
Frustrations and Highlights of the Experience
3:02 to 4:30
Discussion on the fun aspects and frustrations encountered during the event.
“but I think I found it frustrating because I think it could be I'm going to use the word, sensational It could be an 11, couldn't it?”
In-Stadium Experience and Production Quality
4:30 to 6:28
Hosts discuss the in-stadium experience versus the TV production and its impact.
“And interesting your point about the seriousness, David, because it might be a semantic thing, but I'm not sure I come down in the same place as you on that.”
Unexpected Stakes and Player Dynamics
6:28 to 7:54
Exploration of the unexpected stakes involved for players during the event.
“It was a bit po-faced, well, quite a lot po-faced actually in places and just, yeah, it really irritated me quite a lot and the fact that you're sitting there and you feel like this isn't for me, is it?”
The Role of Star Players in the Event
7:54 to 10:12
Discussion on the importance of star players' presence and impact on the event.
“and really shone up the difficulty that the pros have in these scenarios of walking the fine line of, like, the charade of we all know a million dollars is nothing to Yannick Sinner.”
Takeaways from Player Performances and Format
10:12 to 11:28
Insights on the performances of players and the innovative format of the event.
“more interesting it was more interesting seeing Jordan Smith go up against Yannick Sinner than kind of anything it was fun it was great fun so we need stars you need the stars in this event because it elevates it.”
Amateur Player Experience and Prizes
11:28 to 14:00
Discussion on the experience of amateur players and the prizes awarded.
“Well, you watched him in the qualifying.”
The Kia Challenge
14:00 to 15:17
Learn about the competitive atmosphere and outcomes of the Kia amateur event.
“The best, well, we thought it was the best performing amateur takes home a Kia.”
Performance Pressure
15:17 to 16:04
Explore the pressure faced by players like Joanna in high-stakes matches.
“He was so pissed off about losing that Kia.”
Show all 29 chapters
Zverev's Reaction to Big Points
16:04 to 17:42
Discuss how Alexander Zverev reacted during critical moments of the match.
“Can we talk about what it did, though, to Alexander Zverev during their points?”
Memorable Rallies and Highlights
17:42 to 19:36
Relive some of the most exciting rallies and standout moments of the night.
“You'll struggle to see a better shot all tournament than that one.”
The Roof Controversy
19:36 to 20:39
Unpack the frustrations around the closed roof during an outdoor event.
“That's low-key the thing I'm angriest most about.”
Mixed Matches and Gender Dynamics
20:39 to 22:09
Examine the effectiveness of mixed matches and the gender dynamics in tennis.
“I guess justifies any TV-led decisions, but it did affect the experience in the...”
Celebrity Presence in Tennis
22:09 to 23:28
Evaluate the role and impact of celebrities at tennis events.
“Yeah, that was a fun, like, actual sort of tennis element to the night, which I enjoyed very much.”
Professional Players' Engagement
23:28 to 24:32
Discuss the importance of professional players attending and supporting events.
“Wikipedia says that Jay Chow is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director and businessman, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Chinese-speaking world.”
The Aftermath of the Event
24:32 to 28:00
Reflect on social media reactions and the broader implications for tennis.
“Like I was watching the points, but I was also watching the interactions on the sidelines.”
The Rise of Jordan Smith
28:00 to 29:05
Discussion on the popularity and background of Australian player Jordan Smith.
“But then he comes up against, yeah, Jordan Smith.”
The Future of One-Point Slams
29:05 to 30:06
Exploring the potential for one-point slams at other Grand Slam events.
“Who's somebody at the United Cup that was asked to take part and declined?”
Mixed Doubles vs. One-Point Slam
30:06 to 31:36
Debate on the merits of mixed doubles compared to one-point slams.
“or the one-point slam and I think they were probably waiting for tonight to decide.”
Craig Tiley's Legacy
31:36 to 33:54
Analysis of Craig Tiley's impact on the Australian Open and his future.
“I think the most fun I had at any one point was actually the first day of the mixed doubles.”
The Exhibition Experience
33:54 to 35:35
Reflections on the experience of attending tennis exhibitions and their appeal.
“Listen, I mean, I'm not that into exhibitions personally anymore, and that's partly the privilege I have of being able to come to these tennis tournaments and cover them as they are.”
Success of the One Point Slam
35:35 to 38:16
Celebrating the success of the One Point Slam and its evolution over the years.
“You know, they've got a massive glass box of the million dollars.”
Critique of Event Structure
38:16 to 40:05
Criticism of the structure and pacing of the One Point Slam event.
“Gaboli kissed the money on his way out of the stadium.”
Final Thoughts on Faff
40:05 to 41:21
Final reflections on the overall experience and the desire to minimize unnecessary elements.
“You know, you've seen that tweet from Taylor Fritz.”
Meet the Mascot: Gus the Winery Dog
42:11 to 45:11
Listeners are introduced to Gus, the Australian Open mascot, and her charming backstory.
“And we met some lovely listeners there today.”
Fantasy Team Picks and Shout-outs
45:11 to 45:59
Hosts share their fantasy picks and give shout-outs to listeners, creating a sense of community.
“It is an absolute joy to have you with us on this 19-episode journey.”
Memories from Roland Garros
45:59 to 48:39
Hosts reminisce about their experiences at Roland Garros and the magic of attending the tournament.
“Hello to executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff.”
Closing Thoughts and Future Plans
48:39 to 50:21
Hosts wrap up the episode, expressing excitement for the Australian Open and plans for upcoming discussions.
“And if you want to get a taste of it, David did an episode for a little walk and talk.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:10Matt Roberts:Well, hello and welcome to Melbourne Park Garden Square, to be precise, and a beautiful Melbourne evening. It is 11pm and this is the first of 19 daily podcasts from the 2026 Australian Open. And it's a bit of a bonus pod from us, this one, because the serious stuff gets underway tomorrow. That's when the draw is happening. Media Day is Friday. And we'll be back with pods after all of that and a final hype show on Saturday ahead of the main draw getting underway on Sunday. But tonight is all about the one point slam. The event's second edition, although frankly in many ways it felt like an inaugural event tonight because it has been sexed up to the max, folks.
1:03Matt Roberts:Full TV production, sellout Rod Laver Arena crowd and most of the world's top tennis players. And yet the winner of the$1 million prize was 29-year-old Jordan Smith, an amateur tennis coach from New South Wales. En route to victory, he beat Yannick Sinner, sort of, Amanda Anisimova and Pedro Martinez before in the final scoring a win over the iconic, the breakout star, more on her later, Joanna Garland. David, first of all, congratulations on still being awake. I think you've slept for four of the last 48 hours.
1:48David Law:Yeah, that's about right.
1:49Matt Roberts:How was your one-point slam experience?
1:53David Law:I think the only word that I disagreed with you in the entire intro there was not describing this as the serious stuff, because this kind of felt pretty serious in the end. I mean, it's fun, but my word was it, a big, high-profile, glitzy event with actually some serious stakes for the ones at the end who ended up in the final, which I loved. You know, it actually couldn't have gone better for the organisers, really. And it was actually, I mean, I felt like the first hour of it, and I think that that in itself gives you an idea of how long this thing was. It was billed as three hours long and it went even longer than that.
2:37David Law:The first hour dragged, but then it exploded into life and was actually, it's just a brilliant concept and it ended up with a fantastic result.
2:49Matt Roberts:Matt, marks out of 10 for your one point slam experience Is 8 out of 10 fair? That's probably where I am You feel how you feel, Matt Look, there was a lot about it that I found quite frustrating but I think I found it frustrating because I think it could be I'm going to use the word, sensational It could be an 11, couldn't it? It's got so much potential Like the idea behind it, amateurs playing points against pros, trying to win. Like, it's great. I'm all in. And I had a good time. I thought it was really fun. There were some fantastic highlight moments that we'll talk about. Unfortunately, as an in-person experience, I found a lot of it quite tedious.
3:36Like, there was so much faff. The first hour did drag. there was so many pointless interviews and VTs that we just I didn't think we needed and sucked a little bit out of it like that could have been a two-hour event and it could have just been absolutely perfect there's all this extra stuff but the actual the actual idea behind it remains extremely fun to me and I had a good time I really did I felt like a lot of the issues and I'm I'm
4:08Matt Roberts:with you uh it there was a there was a point there at about 8 15 when i was extremely concerned and i was i wrote it down 8 12 p.m katherine this sucks look the one point slam is always a roller coaster of emotion for me we've come to expect that it's it's a space where i allow myself to feel my feelings and i just i just go with it um and things turned around massively very soon after that and look I ended up having a wonderful time and I I pretty much exactly agree with you I do I think my sort of umbrella take on the stuff that I didn't like about it and this is a situation where the stuff that I like about it is just pretty much my favorite thing in tennis and the stuff I don't like about it really irks me and I think that's because as you say of how brilliant it could be.
5:04Matt Roberts:And interesting your point about the seriousness, David, because it might be a semantic thing, but I'm not sure I come down in the same place as you on that. So we'll touch more upon that. But for me, the umbrella issue in terms of the in-stadium experience was it felt like they were making a TV show tonight. And we were, like, they were pleased we were there because we created Atmos, but we were inconsequential. And, you know, we were just left to flap in the wind during lots of very long ad breaks. And all of the interviews, I mean, it was a very slick operation in terms of the presenters and the reporters.
5:50Matt Roberts:This might just be a taste thing. Nobody really put a foot wrong, but I found it tedious. I was at the one of, there have been three sessions of qualifiers for amateurs and sort of lower rent professionals to try and qualify for the grand final this evening. And Blair Henley emceed all of those. And she treated the event with respect and gave it hype. But she also had a little twinkle in her eye of like, this is nonsense. This is brilliant nonsense. and that for me was what was missing tonight. It was a bit po-faced, well, quite a lot po-faced actually in places and just, yeah, it really irritated me quite a lot and the fact that you're sitting there and you feel like this isn't for me, is it?
6:45Matt Roberts:I'm sure it was an extremely slick production on TV where you're expecting ad breaks and it's an opportunity for you to get up and go to the loo or whatever but it really interrupted the flow of the evening and created just a heck of a lot of faff. So much faff.
7:04David Law:Yes. I mean, look, the serious stuff reference, I was joking. No, no. But, I mean, but actually what they, even though I was joking, they did actually create something tonight that feels like it's got legs for the future. This is their mixed doubles US Open, really. Well, you're absolutely... And the similarity to the mixed doubles US Open is that by accident, stakes came into play. Yeah.
7:33Matt Roberts:Like, the organisers did not want Andrea Vavasori and Sararani even entering that tournament, let alone winning it. But for them, it was everything, both financially and in terms of proving a point. Well, that ended up being the case today, tonight. Perhaps not the proving a point for Jordan Smith, but absolutely financially he's changed his life tonight and Joanna Garland, who he faced in the final, OK, she's a pro, but she's a pro of such a level where a million dollars would have absolutely changed her life and career and she, in a very pressured setting where she clearly had very little experience, she spoke incredibly well about that, didn't she?
8:15Matt Roberts:and really shone up the difficulty that the pros have in these scenarios of walking the fine line of, like, the charade of we all know a million dollars is nothing to Yannick Sinner. But you don't want to patronise people by pretending this is the be-all and end-all for him, but also you don't want to patronise them by making it incredibly clear that you arrived here by private jet and you don't give a toss about an extra million. So, yeah, it's accidental stakes that... I don't know how to feel about that because I don't think it's what the organisers... Well, the organisers would have... If they'd told them that Jordan Smith from New South Wales could win tonight, I think they'd have signed for that.
9:04Matt Roberts:I'd say that this is a pretty much perfect scenario.
9:07David Law:They didn't want Joanna Garland winning.
9:08Matt Roberts:I wanted Joanna Garland winning. I don't think they wanted Pedro Martinez winning. None of us wanted Pedro Martinez winning.
9:15David Law:Once they got the final of Joanna Garland, and we'll be able to talk about how she got there, and because of how she got there, and the impact she had. I mean, people loved her in that stadium. And the fact that she was playing against the amateur guy, I think that that was a perfect case scenario for the organisers.
9:36Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I think my big takeaway from this is about the type of people that need to be in the one-point slam going forward. It crystallised that, didn't it? Yeah, because last year we had, okay, we had Rublev and Herkac, but they really stood out as the top pros. You didn't have any massive, massive stars in the way that you had this time. And I was worried about the injection of stars into the one-point slam. I actually thought they walked that line really well in terms of what you've just talked about there, in terms of yes we know a million dollars is nothing to Yannick Sinner but his presence there and Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Goff and Igor Sviontech they raised the stakes and they and they made it more interesting it was more interesting seeing Jordan Smith go up against Yannick Sinner than kind of anything it was fun it was great fun so we need stars you need the stars in this event because it elevates it.
10:33Catherine Whitaker:You need the amateurs. Like, absolutely. Like the state champions that they had. The state champions. Like, properly good amateurs. Good players who can really play. They can rally with the pros if the pros are a bit tight, as they're going to be. We need them. Pack the field with them. They were great. And they've got to be able to serve, haven't they? They've got to have a good serve. Right. You don't need celebrities and you don't need middling pros.
10:59Matt Roberts:Yeah, Pedro Martinez and loser fruit. Get in the bin.
11:04David Law:Especially if you're going to look as pissed off as Pedro Martinez. He's stormed off court. That was actually the best contribution he made of the night was the fact that he tried really hard to win his semi-final against Smith, didn't win, and then looked really miffed that he hadn't. He's revealed.
11:24Matt Roberts:I previously had no opinions about Pedro Martinez, and now I have quite a lot. Well, you watched him in the qualifying. Yeah, I think he's been pretty graceless throughout the whole experience. He was squeaking his shoes when people were serving. Yeah, yeah. I mean, so is Nick Kyrgios, but, like, do you want to be behaving like Nick Kyrgios? Don't like him either. No. OK, other big picture takes about tonight?
11:53David Law:I don't have any others, really, other than the format of playing one point between anybody makes it feel like anything is possible. And therefore, they've got themselves an amazing format. And it truly does create nerves in even the best players in the world. Yeah.
12:17Catherine Whitaker:Well, and actually, Joanna Garland, I thought, expressed that really well because the play was throughout the night, if you win the rock, paper, scissors, that's a big takeaway. People don't know how to play rock, paper, scissors. Like, that was chaos. Let us know, please. Is that not a universal international thing, rock, paper, scissors? Or is it like a Gen Z don't know rock, paper, scissors? Is it a generational thing? I guess there is always that thing where people don't know whether to go on three or don't know whether to go on four.
12:48Matt Roberts:Yeah, Flavio Caballi definitely didn't.
12:49Catherine Whitaker:That seemed to be causing a lot of confusion. But what kept happening was that whoever won the rock, paper, scissors would choose to receive. That was the play throughout the night. Most people were doing that. But Garland's take on that was, if they're making me serve, that shows that they're tight, you know, because they don't want to serve. They're scared about serving. She kept saying that when she was beating Zverev and Kyrgios and all these people. And she was getting her one serve in. She was only allowed one serve because she's a pro. Despite what she was called by the MC. And she was playing such brave tennis in those one point.
13:27Catherine Whitaker:She was going after it. She was attacking the ball.
13:30Matt Roberts:Backhand list was getting mentioned. She leans into that shot. Can she go on the watch list? Yeah, absolutely. She needs something out of tonight. She didn't even get the Kia. No. Although we do like the guy that did get the Kia. He was great. It turned out there was a second prize, a big one, of a Kia EV3, I think it is. If you know your Kias, like David. Yeah. I mean, they're all good, aren't they? It's a nice one, yeah. It's a nice one. The best, well, we thought it was the best performing amateur takes home a Kia. So going into the final, we thought, okay, we can cheer for our Joanna, who has won our hearts tonight and know that Jordan, for his effort, still gets a Kia.
14:18Great, everyone's a winner. Then it turns out that what actually happens is that the two best-performing amateurs face off for the Kia right before the final.
14:30Matt Roberts:And so Jordan had to take on a guy called Alex, quite a player, Alex. Yeah, a kick serve and a lot of topspin on his forehands. And Alex had lost a couple of rounds before him.
14:46Catherine Whitaker:Yes, I think to McCartney Kessler. Yeah, who, revelation tonight. Yeah, she was locked in.
14:52David Law:It's not a crime. She doesn't mess about.
14:57Matt Roberts:And poor old Jordan lost to Alex. I mean, fair and square, Alex played a brilliant point, took it to him. He deserves that Kia. I hope you drive it around town like a god, Alex. but poor old Jordan was going into this million dollar match with a face of thunder. He was so pissed off about losing that Kia.
15:20David Law:He didn't think he was going to win that final did he? No. Given the way she'd been playing I'm not surprised. And then her backhand let her down. She won the toss and she said I'm going to stick with what I've been doing. I'm going to serve. It's the first time though she was playing a match that she should have won probably and I think because she kept saying in the interviews throw in the pressure on the opponents by saying well you know they seem quite tight I'll just carry on She played a couple yesterday in qualifying and I think I wasn't there at qualifying the final qualifying round this morning but obviously it's different in front of 10 ,000 people but yeah her backhand did let her down and backhand list discussion quickly ended.
16:09David Law:Can we talk about what it did, though, to Alexander Zverev during their points? Go for it, David. I mean, well, look, they get into it. She gets a serve and they get into a rally. Honestly, it was a little bit like watching Alexander Zverev against quite a lot of players on big points when they've got a big game and he's just absorbing their game. And, you know, you just, you're expecting it a miss. I was anyway. I was just waiting for one of them to go out and you know i also thought well she's she's not going to actually hit a winner is she you know even though she was hitting nicely i thought i don't expect a winner to come from a racket and then she hit one big shot that really shook him to a little bit she then hit another forehand behind it and he's slightly on the run and you're thinking okay here comes the miss except she torpedoed this backhand down the line it was unbelievable this shot and he's scrabbling out to his right and he can only float it up into the air and into the tram lines and i mean he was trying because i think there is a question mark how much were the very top players trying full out tonight at all times i think there were some moments where they were either extending rallies or they weren't you know locked in in the way they would be in a in a match but i I think that Zverev in that point, you know, he was, maybe he didn't try, maybe he was trying to get a rally going, but suddenly he was not back on his heels and he couldn't get the ball back.
17:39David Law:It was just the most incredible backhand. You'll struggle to see a better shot all tournament than that one. And then she beat Kyrgios. Yeah, he missed a return maybe or something. Yes, he tried to take a backhand on the rise and charge in and he hit it long. Yeah. After having done sort of lots of dancing. Yeah, really trying to put her off with her one serve. Yeah, squeaking and threatening the sabre and, you know, whatever.
18:09That's sort of fine if you win the point. You look an absolute idiot if you don't. I mean, we did also get Amanda Nisimov over beating Daniil Mephedev. Yeah, I think actually as a point, that might have been my favourite. Really good point. They were both with their flat, piercing ground strokes. We had a great vantage point for it, didn't we? Because we were at the side of the court, so you could really see the flight of the ball. And it was... Yeah, that was a fun moment. It was fantastic.
18:35David Law:I quite enjoyed an early rally between Vavara Lipchenko and Joanna Garland, which was the first proper rally we had all night. And somebody behind, who I don't necessarily watch as that much tellies, just said, holy shit!
Read the full transcript
18:54Matt Roberts:that was great that was fantastic yeah and it really it injected a jolt of electricity through the stadium didn't it because it had been a really tough start i thought the whole first round was
19:10David Law:quite 12 p.m the whole first round i mean was dragging and i i went to the i started to feel the jet lag at around the 50 minute mark or an hour mark and went out and came back in to igish fiontech playing her first match and she'd got a buy in the first round yes she beat uh cabali she dragged him all over the court that was funny the place was exploding after that wasn't it oh something we should have mentioned in terms of why like the start was weird why was the roof on? Open the roofs. That's low-key the thing I'm angriest most about. Here we are at 11.18. It's the most beautiful Melbourne evening.
19:52You couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. I've absolutely no idea why the roof was closed. But it just diminishes my enjoyment of watching tennis. Here in particular, you know, We've travelled 10 ,000 miles to be in the summer in January at an outdoor tournament, what a treat, and to be sitting in the slightly muggy indoors. And it's a particular... Look, I'm very grateful to have the roof. Wouldn't have it any other way. But it's a visually very ugly roof, isn't it, when it's closed? It really feels quite imposing. All the photos I take are just rubbish when the roof's closed. And you know there's a beautiful sunset happening outside.
20:34I cannot think why they would have closed that roof and it really irritated me it just sort of diminished the experience of being in the stadium by 20 % I fear the answer is something to do with TV because the whole thing is geared towards TV and maybe that's the smart thing to do I suspect they've sold tonight broadcast wise pretty well and I suspect they'll sell it for more next year
21:01David Law:And the place was packed, wasn't it? I guess justifies any TV-led decisions,
21:07Matt Roberts:but it did affect the experience in the...
21:10David Law:One other big takeaway I do have is, in a month where we've had all this talk about how tiresome and sad it was seeing man against woman in that joke of a Battle of the Sexes match the other week, we found another format here where you can put men and women against each other on the court and it works. This and mixed doubles, the United Cup and mixed doubles generally, this works. Totally, yeah, well said. And in fact we had the quarterfinals, didn't we, which ended up with six women and two men
21:50Matt Roberts:And the two men were Pedro Martinez and Jordan Smith Yeah, like the women were coming out on top in those rallies. And I think a lot of it was they were playing the boulder tennis in a lot of those points. They were going after the ball a lot more. The men were kind of pushing, chipping, slicing. And it was really interesting to just observe that. Yeah, that was a fun, like, actual sort of tennis element to the night, which I enjoyed very much. On the celebrities thing, we should probably shout out... The most famous man there. The most famous man here that half the stadium seemed to have shown up for.
22:29Matt Roberts:I have forgotten his name. I didn't know it at the start of the night. I don't know it now. Jay Chow.
22:33David Law:Yeah.
22:34Matt Roberts:My goodness me, people were excited about Jay Chow.
22:37David Law:Yeah, somebody behind us, as he was about to receive serve, I heard say, I'm not ready for this man. And I just wrote down, neither was he. He was aced by Peter Jovich. He didn't even move. No, he didn't move. I mean and that really emphasised the point of like okay
22:57Matt Roberts:again like we're not the target audience for celebrities being there and being involved are we so like I'm sure there is value to having celebrities there don't have them playing unless they're really good at tennis there was a jockey wasn't there that could play a bit like he went around yeah that was sort of fine but don't have celebrities that can't play loser fruit, a twitch person, and Jay Chow. Loser Fruit serve wasn't the worst of the night though. No, it wasn't, Matt. Our worst fears were realised.
23:35David Law:Wikipedia says that Jay Chow is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director and businessman, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Chinese-speaking world. It felt like it. The place exploded when he came out. Yeah. Yeah. So I say that about the celebrities, but yeah, it obviously did get people here. Find a way to get Jay Chow involved where he doesn't have to hold a tennis racket. I was going to say hit a ball, but he didn't hit a ball. Donna Vekic won like three rounds without hitting a ball.
24:05Matt Roberts:Then got to plug her diamond brand and leave. Yeah. That was something that really annoyed me. The pros all leaving. They should have been required to stay. Absolutely. Like stay there for the end and watch that final point. I'm seeing endless footage of them backstage watching the final. And, you know, it's great stuff. They're reacting, you know, Carlos Alcaraz is going absolutely bananas. You needed that on the court. Big time. Because that's one of the fun things when you get people interacting together. Like I was watching the points, but I was also watching the interactions on the sidelines.
24:36And yeah, it elevated it to have Carlos Alcaraz there on the side and Sinner and Goff and Chvionte. And then they suddenly all left and it was Diego Schwartzman in a suit.
24:48Matt Roberts:Is he taking a corporate job at Tennis Australia? Today would suggest so. Yeah, we'll investigate for you. We've teased that serve, haven't we? Yes, well, I'm looking at my timeline here, and I've got two tweets back-to-back. Carlos Alcaraz has just tweeted, Jordan Smith. That's all. Love that. And Coco Goff has tweeted, great event. Lol, I said when it started, I hoped an amateur one. Congrats, Jordan. So cold. That actually isn't the tweet that I was referencing from Coco Goff. There was one before that that said, I feel better about missing my serve now that Yannick and Foe did. And I'm glad she feels better.
25:31But like,
25:33Matt Roberts:bless her. Her service miss was in a different universe to anybody else's tonight. The stadium stood still, didn't it? In that couple of seconds before she went to serve. We all held hard breath. You have got work to do. So much work. She beat Iga Spiontek the other day playing brilliantly. She is never as high as you think. She is never as low as you think. We've never seen this kind of low point from her before, though. We've had this sort of pressure. She just collapsed on it and it went in the bottom of the net. Who was she playing again? Who could say? Someone like Pedro Martinez. She was out there yesterday.
26:16So I'm out there, court six for the qualifiers, or looking for the qualifiers. And when I arrived, I got the time wrong. I was there half an hour early and Tamara Korpatch was there playing a qualies match and I thought I'd been duped.
26:31Matt Roberts:So I went for a little walk, came back. I was figuring out which side to sit on. I thought, that looks like Coco Gauff. That looks like Gavin McMillan. That looks like Coco Gauff's mum. Anyway, the entirety of Team Goff was arriving at court six and just sat in the stands and watched pretty much all of this session of one point slam qualifiers. And I was sat pretty much dead opposite her. And she had the exact same experience. It looked to me like I had at the one point slam last year. Skeptical to start with. Hood up. Why am I here? A little bit moody. What is this nonsense? And after an hour, she was on her feet, whooping and hollering and roundhouse fist pumping.
27:19Matt Roberts:And it was incredible. And, yeah, the scouting did not help her for today. But I'm glad she got in the spirit of it. Yeah. And she took it well. She laughed it off. She did. She's tweeting about it. Yeah. That's great.
27:33David Law:What do you make of Yannick Sinner going out against Smith with not a double fault, a fault. Because his previous, I was going to say match, which seems silly really, point, had been against Pablo Crenia Busta. And that was suddenly a real moment of, oh, this is a different level suddenly. Like people have been patting the ball back and Sinnoh just absolutely ripped it from the baseline. And like, Crenia Busta's playing good, normal tennis and he just hasn't got a chance.
28:03Catherine Whitaker:No. But then he comes up against, yeah, Jordan Smith. The most famous man in Australia. Australia are going to go nuts for this guy, aren't they? This is right in the Australia sweet spot, I think. A grassroots Aussie lad. His parents, his family own the tennis club that he coaches at. He's been playing since he was three. Salt of the earth.
28:28Matt Roberts:I think he's going to be on reality TV within the next few months.
28:32David Law:Well, I mean, they've already said he's going to be on the breakfast shows in the morning. So we'll turn TJ on, see what he's got to say about it all. Ivelisse has just tweeted, So, so, so happy an amateur one. We need one-point slams at every Grand Slam, please. So fun to watch. Discuss.
28:55Catherine Whitaker:And Taylor Fritz tweeted something similar, didn't he, like while it was on? Implied that he had said no. Yeah, he said he's taking the L on this for not playing, that he was having a lot of fun watching it. Who's somebody at the United Cup that was asked to take part and declined? I wonder how they're feeling. Yeah, I mean... Because they're not going to struggle to get people to sign up for this now.
29:17David Law:I personally am quite happy for it to just be an Australian Open event. And I hope it kind of, hope it remains that and that the others find something else. Because we had all this conversation when the mixed doubles happened. You know, everybody's saying, oh, all the Grand Slams need to do this. Well, no, they don't. You know, the French Open has kind of got this elevated qualifying with the use of court Susan Longland. You know, they're using the biggest courts for qualifying, and it feels like this massive deal. Maybe they could come up with an event that has something of its own, but I think that they've got their thing.
29:55David Law:Wimbledon, of course, just isn't able to have a week at the moment. I mean, eventually it will. but I think everything is just about as it should be. I think the French Open is going to do one of the mixed doubles or the one-point slam and I think they were probably waiting for tonight to decide. We had heard, hadn't we, that they were very keen on the mixed doubles. Yeah, I think they're going to. I don't think Wimbledon will, well, because they can't at the moment and I also don't think they would sort of rush to follow this trend anyway. No, I mean, they do have a brand of their own as well.
30:38David Law:I mean, I think that this fits the Australian Open brand perfectly. Yeah, I kind of feel like I sort of hope the French doesn't do this and just copy. Assuming they do, which would you rather they do? The one-point slam or the mixed doubles? probably the mixed doubles I think interesting because you preferred the mixed doubles no not necessarily I kind of just think that fits a bit better there than this would I think that this fits the Australian Open perfectly Matt? but I kind of don't want them to do either
31:21Catherine Whitaker:yeah ultimately I'm with David I'd rather They're amazing qualifying. I really do think they will. Yes, no, I think you're probably right. I think of all the... It's money, isn't it? Like, it's... It's money. You know, if we look at the mixed doubles and we look at this, I think the most fun I had at any one point was actually the first day of the mixed doubles. I loved that so much when we saw all the different teams. When they were all parading out. And they all came out when they were announced, unlike tonight. Yeah, and there was no faff. It was nonstop action. Get the next match on. We get we were introduced to all these pairs.
31:57Catherine Whitaker:I loved that. Yeah, I really did. And I think they could elevate that element at the US Open next year. I think they could make that day bigger. So I would probably lean towards the mixed doubles ultimately. But I had a great time. Unfortunately, the same thing we said about the mixed doubles, I think they're going to go probably and lean into the stuff we don't want. and they're probably not going to make it with more doubles players, I think this event will probably keep leaning into faff and celebrity and big production and I don't know. I can't see them trimming the draw, for example, so that you've got a streamlined set and getting it down to two hours.
32:43Catherine Whitaker:I think it's unlikely to go in that direction as much as it irks us. That's just not the direction of travel in the world, is it?
32:51David Law:Why would they have two hours of content when they can have three? Right. But then by that logic, I suppose the US Open mixed doubles format gave you more sessions to sell.
33:06But, you know, I'm not looking at the balance sheets for both events. So I think, oh, this is big. I totally agree with you, David. this feels very fitting here. And yet I also think there's something about it being an entirely separate event that isn't compromising or butchering, you know, isn't something you have to put on the bloody roll of honour.
33:34David Law:Yeah, this is the first proper exhibition that I've come to and really want to return to. I'm really chuffed that for the fans that they get to see these exhibitions, I think, is it Federer and Agassi playing a doubles match in a couple of nights' time? Federer, Agassi and Crowded House. Yeah. Listen, I mean, I'm not that into exhibitions personally anymore, and that's partly the privilege I have of being able to come to these tennis tournaments and cover them as they are. But that's irrelevant. The important thing is thousands and thousands of fans love it. But I personally prefer these ones that do feel, that end up making you feel like they matter, that they've got some stakes on it that make you feel a bit nervous and anxious and what's going to happen?
34:21David Law:And that's what we had tonight. But that's also what we had at the Mixed Doubles, isn't it? Yeah, definitely. We had a really broad spectrum of caring. We had Naomi Osaka and Gilmore Fies. You know, she was wearing, I mean, she was wearing a similar outfit tonight, but she was basically wearing sort of pyjamas, wasn't she? In the end, you know, Tiafos ended Tiafos and Keys, was it? Yeah. That was not a good vibe. And then, of course, you had on the other end, Vavasori and Arani. And still hope they end up getting some more of that into it. And maybe if the French went the doubles route, maybe they would think, actually, we want to have a bit more credibility to this by having some more of the doubles teams in.
34:58David Law:I'm just thinking out loud there, you know. I wonder if they're a bit more wedded to tradition at Roland Garros than the US Open. They might try to strike more of a balance. I think it's a watch this space situation for what Roland Garros will announce. But Craig Tiley, and this could very well be his last Australian Open, he's feeling smug tonight, isn't he? His face was on the money. Yes. Yeah, that was a low point. Even he looked a little bit uncomfortable. Yeah, good on him for looking uncomfortable about that because it was. You know, they've got a massive glass box of the million dollars.
35:40Matt Roberts:And they put it where they usually put the trophies during the finals on a plinth.
35:45David Law:He sort of wallpapered it with Craig Tiley's face on some$100 bills. And, yeah, I saw Andre Sarr, a former player who works for Tennis Australia, sort of laughing and tapping him on the shoulder. And I did think, oh, he looks a bit sheepish there, as though he'd rather that wasn't happening. But I don't know. I mean, you mentioned that is just an interesting point, that it may be his last Australian Open, because there was some very credible reporting recently linking him with the vacant US Open, USTA, chief exec job, I think it is, which is a massive job. And obviously he's been at the Australian Open for 20 years now in Tennis Australia.
36:28And he hasn't denied those reports, has he? Which if there was nothing in them, you suspect he might, but time will tell.
36:37David Law:It's a big one to watch over, isn't it? And he might be standing there thinking, well, I mean, not that he hasn't already built a legacy here. I mean, this is I heard someone call it the Craig Tiley slam earlier, like he has. But in terms of like a note to potentially end on, this is this is quite a legacy, isn't it? Well, it's another success story, this tonight, isn't it? If you think a year ago, I mean, it is pretty much the anniversary of us going, just stopping by the Kia Arena to have a quick look in on our way to the media room at this thing called the One Point Slam, which none of us wanted to watch, particularly you, Catherine.
37:17David Law:but an hour later we're all in on it and we're watching the space for the next edition and here the thing has just packed out the Rod Laver Arena and a global television audience with the biggest names in the sport partaking I mean that is an example of Tennis Australia and Craig Tiley's vision for things and how they spot something they go with it and they go 100 % and they really, I mean, this thing, this place has gone through so many iterations over the last 20 years. I mean, it's elevated itself to the equal of the others so quickly from where it was. And I think it pretty much was when I first came here in 2003.
38:04David Law:But the way they've managed to help it keep pace and done it by innovation is, I think that they stand alone in that regard.
38:14Matt Roberts:There was a great moment where Flavio Gaboli kissed the money on his way out of the stadium. There were lots of nice little moments like that, weren't there? Yes, I also want to give a shout out to, I think, the, I think maybe even a worse shot than Goff's serve of the night, which was the Mouté return. It was maybe the first point. Quarantine Mouté feels a long time ago. It was maybe the first point of the whole evening, wasn't it?
38:42David Law:I almost left at that point. I mean... He got this dolly of a serve and he just sliced it out. Yeah, I did think at that stage, oh, no, this is going to be really lacklustre. Yeah. All of it. Oh, the early stages were worrying.
38:59Catherine Whitaker:Yeah. And look, it was an hour before Alcaraz, Sinner, Svante, etc. all came out. There were buys. Which is just...
39:10Matt Roberts:I mean, buys are always unacceptable. But in a one-point slam, what are we doing? That was it. They had their time through the qualifying to get the people that no one was really that interested in seeing through the qualifying.
39:27Catherine Whitaker:And, you know, most of them will go out and those who win will make it through. It then felt like we had like another round of qualifying on the big night. And then finally we got the real thing. and it was a bad start. They should have started with a bang. They'd obviously sold it to the big players. It's maximum two hours of your time. Half of them had come on to court. They had their accreditations in their pockets. They'd clearly just come... They hadn't been doing a full warm-up backstage and built their day around this. It was, look, it's an hour, maximum two in the evening. Please do this.
40:03Maybe the balance of power next time will be somewhat different because players will be keener. You know, you've seen that tweet from Taylor Fritz. But yeah, I think it was a combination of them wanting to guarantee three hours of content for broadcasters. But then feeling they couldn't get a three hour commitment from the top players. That's exactly what it felt like. That was something else, by the way. But you can't have everything.
40:29David Law:Something else I loved, by the way, was the fact that there's just no warm up whatsoever. There's not even like a one rally warm up. Which they could have done. Actual tennis could be like that too, if people saw the light. Seeing them just go to the line and have to deliver was awesome. It was so institutionalised about FAF. They still managed to find FAF. That was the only bit of FAF they got rid of. They ramped up all the rest of it.
40:53Matt Roberts:The interviews, the VTs. We started getting VTs explaining to us who Igor Sviontek was. Insane. That wound me up so much. Yeah. But it was an extremely fun evening. And a great start. Great fun.
41:08Catherine Whitaker:I had a really good time.
41:10David Law:Yeah, it was awesome.
41:10Matt Roberts:Yeah. It really, really was fun. Like, we're into this.
41:16David Law:Yeah. If you can't tell.
41:18Matt Roberts:Just for God's sake, get rid of the faff. Please. Open the roofs and get rid of the faff. Exactly. We've got our agendas and we're sticking to them. folks as I said this is the first of 19 daily tennis podcasts from the Australian Open 19 it used to be 14 daily used to mean something very different we are we're standing just at the entrance or one of the entrances to Odlaver Arena over to my right is the statue of Leslie Bowery where well It was originally came to our attention when we recorded one of our first emergency podcasts there by Leslie when Serena Williams lost here to Wong Chong. Wow.
42:12And we met some lovely listeners there today. We did a bit of a meet and greet and hello and thank you to everybody that came to say hello. and lots of them were at the one-point slam tonight and I hope they had a good time too and also were cheering for Joanna. Cheering for Jordan, also entirely acceptable. I'm thrilled for Jordan, especially when he didn't win the Kia. Folks, for all 19 of our episodes this tournament, we have a mascot. A few weeks ago, we put out an appeal for an Australian Open mascot slot. It was open, it needed filling, and Gus answered the call. Gus is owned by Renee, full name Augustine, which is pretty epic.
43:04She's an eight-year-old British Labrador living in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York with her Australian human parents, which is perfect. Formerly a New York City dog, she's now fully embraced country life and works full-time as a winery dog.
43:20Matt Roberts:Guys, this is a variety of dog I didn't know existed. I could be tempted to live in the countryside now I know that winery dogs are a thing. She's embedded in her human's vineyard and closely involved in all aspects of operations. Her responsibilities include overseeing planting and picking, conducting regular inspections of the vines, lying strategically in inconvenient places and upholding extremely high standards when it comes to snacks, of which she firmly believes there should always be more. Like any true Labrador, food is not just love, but a defining personality trait. Outside of vineyard duties, Gus is an authentic, excuse me, an enthusiastic swimmer in any body of water she can find, an avid snow roller, a committed destroyer of tennis balls, and a loyal listener of the tennis podcast with her mum.
44:17She's very excited to be the mascot for the Australian Open, particularly given her Australian parents, even if she herself has no real concept of what Australia is, beyond it being very important right now. If she were a tennis player, she's basically Coco Gough, a crowd favourite with a sky-high joy index, big energy, universally adored and with just enough nervous sensitivity to make her relatable. and I think I've done a very good job to read all that out given that Gus has been staring at me, staring into my soul the whole time. We've got the most wonderful picture of her. Yeah, Labradors are very close to my heart and she is a beautiful one and she can perform vineyard duties.
45:05Matt Roberts:So I'm pretty obsessed with that concept. Welcome, Gus. Happy Australian Open to you. It is an absolute joy to have you with us on this 19-episode journey.
45:16Catherine Whitaker:And what a beautifully written bio. Yeah, so great. Written with so much love.
45:21Matt Roberts:Yeah, Renée's done us proud there. Thank you, Renée. We, of course, have our mascots. A big hello to Bodhi. Big day for us, Bodhi. One-point slam day. It's all downhill from here. Maisie for David.
45:35David Law:Yeah, Maisie, you inspired me to pick my fantasy team today, which we'll be revealing in the newsletter. And I think it went pretty well. Yes, fantasy team reveals in the newsletter. So do sign up. Matt, you had first pick in the fantasy team.
45:53Catherine Whitaker:I did. It will shock everyone who I went for. Find out in the newsletter.
45:59Matt Roberts:Hello to Roger.
46:00Catherine Whitaker:And it's a big day for me tomorrow. You and me, Roger. It's the best day. The best day. Hello to executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Should we have some shout outs? Let's do it. We have Sean, who also wants to shout out his wife, Brittany. All right, Sean. Sean says, we became enormous fans of the podcast in 2025, the same year we went to the US Open three times. As much as seeing Sinkaras was a lifetime event, I'm certain Brit's favourite moment was watching Irani and Vavasori win the mixed doubles and official Grand Slam tournament. Sean says, Brit, I love you. From both of us to the whole TTP crew, thank you for so many smiles and for giving us, among so many other gems, Matt Lobbets.
46:56Catherine Whitaker:We randomly drop that into conversation several times a week.
47:01David Law:So do we!
47:05Matt Roberts:Oh, Sean gets it, doesn't he?
47:08David Law:Yeah.
47:09Matt Roberts:We like Sean. We love you too, Brittany. You two sound great. That's lovely. Thank you for that.
47:17Catherine Whitaker:We've also got Ryan Riley.
47:21Matt Roberts:Oh, great name, Ryan Riley.
47:23Catherine Whitaker:Ryan is from the US originally, but now lives in London. and Ryan says, my wife and I completed the Calendar Fan Slam in 2019. Oh, good work. The same year we got married. We had the chance to tell David at the Queen's Club live show and he mentioned how jealous he was because at that point he had not been to Roland Garros. Wow. Goodness.
47:47David Law:Gosh. I've made it for lost time. That's exactly what Ryan says. That's wild because...
47:542019 still doesn't sound that long ago. to me and yet you never having been to Roland Garros feels ages ago to me yeah yeah I mean
48:06David Law:honestly I'm going to sell it all to you to you all again if if you haven't been you've got to you've got to try you've got to find a way one day to go to Roland Garros because it's it's magical and um yeah I'm glad I I managed to to do as as you have done as well right
48:25Catherine Whitaker:Oh, it's one of the most powerful things I've ever witnessed, you being at Roland Garros for the first time, having worked in tennis for so long and yet getting that new experience. It was so special. And if you want to get a taste of it, David did an episode for a little walk and talk. David's diary. David's diary from Roland Garros that year. It's in the archive for friends, isn't it? Yes.
48:53David Law:anybody who's a friend of the Tennis Podcast gets access to a hundred plus show archive just for friends and it's one of the very early ones, it's probably about episode eight or nine or something like that and yeah it was one of those where I just I just said I'm just popping out before the final with my recorder
49:15Catherine Whitaker:David had been to Roland Garros, recorded a pod and come back before Well I was still asleep
49:21David Law:and I had no idea if it would be worth listening to at all but it seemed to work yeah it was really special thank you Ryan
49:30Catherine Whitaker:thank you Ryan for reminding us of that and finally we have Robbie McCarthy another great name hello Robbie alright Robbie who says I've been a listener since the pandemic and have not missed an episode since the relived episodes as well as the Grand Slam review shows are some of my favourites how could you not love a Mary Carrillo voice note.
49:51David Law:You are right, Robbie, like Ginepre. Robbie gets it
49:55Catherine Whitaker:too, doesn't he? What a great set of shout-outs tonight.
49:58Matt Roberts:Yeah, really. Superb. Top notch. We are back with a bang into it. We are so back. Robbie, Ryan, Brittany and Sean, thank you ever so much for that. You have rounded out a very, very beautiful evening. The perfect start to the Australian Open 2026. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and folks, We'll be back tomorrow. We'll speak to you then.
From the publisher
Catherine, David and Matt are together in Melbourne for the Australian Open and we start our coverage Down Under by reacting to the One Point Slam which we all attended on the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.
We discuss how the event differed from last year’s, the parts that worked and the parts that didn’t, the glorious journeys of eventual champion Jordan Smith and breakout star Joanna Garland, and whether Roland Garros will follow suit or go down the Mixed Doubles route.
The Tennis Podcast throughout the Australian Open is sponsored by Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours - the Premium Hospitality and Experience Provider! For 10% off the best official ticket packages for Roland Garros, go to Tours4Tennis.com/Podcast, select your tickets and use the discount code Tennis10 at checkout.
Official ticket and travel packages are offered and fulfilled by Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours.
Specifically for our promotions, Steve Furgal’s Tennis Tours is the Official Travel Provider of the USTA and the US
Open, and an Official Provider of Roland-Garros packages. Exclusive Tennis Podcast listener offers expire
February 28, 2026. Terms, pricing, availability, and restrictions apply. See website for details
(www.Tours4Tennis.com)
Check out our new merch shop!
Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge!
Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)
Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.