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The Australian Open has partnered with NFT and digital collectible platform Sweet to commemorate the many decades that the competition has been bringing tennis fans from all over the world together to witness the sport’s greatest athletes.
Australian Open history and legends from each decade will be made available throughout the series, and a special edition 1 of 1 NFT ticket to AO 2023 will be made available for auction – the winner of which will get an experience of a lifetime: an all-expense-paid trip to the ‘Happy Slam’ in 2023.
The very first release themed around the 1970s will be launched today and will feature four NFT collectible items, available from Sweet. In addition to capturing powerful, legendary moments from the Tournament’s history, other unique items available will include a Commemorative Ticket, a 3D Tennis Racket, a 3D Umpire Chair, as well as a full 3D Tennis Court. Fans who complete the set for that decade will receive a “Master NFT” in the form of a commemorative 3D poster that celebrates those years when some thought it was too far to travel for a Grand Slam.
From there, every two days, the collection will showcase some of the most memorable moments and innovations throughout the decades right through to this year’s modern competition. The items will stay the same, but the skins will evolve to reflect the look of their respective time period, ultimately featuring classic memories involving iconic names such as Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, and Lindsay Davenport, as well as any new astonishing accomplishments from this year’s event.
The final set of digital collectibles will be released on January 27th, coinciding with the end of the Tournament. And just as the Tournament concludes on January 30th, the first 50 fans who have collected all six decades posters, will be granted an exclusive AO NFT Trophy to their Sweet blockchain wallet that features both the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup (Men’s) and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (Women’s).
“The Australian Open is one of the world’s most innovative sports and entertainment events – we’ve made it a habit of unveiling world firsts and this year is no different. We’re sharing the story of the Australian Open through the decades with NFTs… tennis fans can collect the grass at Kooyong Stadium as well as the ‘true blue’ from Rod Laver Arena while keeping it all in a Sweet blockchain wallet,” said Ridley Plummer, Tennis Australia’s Metaverse and NFT project manager.
“We were delighted to work with the Australian Open and help bring these pieces of tennis history to fans across the globe,” said Tom Mizzone, CEO of Sweet. “We love this idea of turning IP into digital memorabilia and tying that memorabilia back to an experience – the idea that the AO designed an umpire chair that had never been seen before and now tennis fans can own and display that umpire chair as an NFT is just amazing – it’s truly a new level of access.”